Senate panel approves N140bn budget for North Central Development Commission

The senate committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) has approved the agency’s 2025 budgetary proposal of N140 billion.

The approval followed the budget defence session by Tsenyil Yiltsen, managing director of the NCDC, before the committee on Tuesday.

Titus Zam, chairman of the committee, said the budget was approved after a careful review of the proposal and presentation made by the NCDC leadership.

“After a careful look at the issues contained in the budget and the eloquent presentation by the MD and his team, the committee has approved the budget of N140 billion as presented by the commission,” Zam said.

During the presentation, Yiltsen said N140 billion was allocated to the commission by the federal government for the fiscal year.

He said N100 billion would be dedicated to capital projects across the six states in the zone and the federal capital territory (FCT), while N40 billion would cover recurrent expenditure such as overheads and personnel costs.

Yiltsen explained that the capital allocation is not tied to a single project but spread across several initiatives in the region.

“We have eight thematic areas in terms of infrastructure deployment, which are security, agriculture, mining, environmental degradation, education, health, and road construction,” he said.

The NCDC boss assured the committee that projects would be evenly distributed across the six states and the FCT.

“We will go out for a proper needs assessment in all the states and will be fair in the distribution of these projects in all the six states and FCT,” he added.

Yiltsen also noted that part of the N40 billion for recurrent expenditure would cover salaries for about 200 new staff members once recruitment is approved by the head of service.

While commending the presentation, the committee urged the NCDC to ensure judicious use of the budget, particularly the N100 billion earmarked for capital expenditure.

The panel also called on the governments of the six states in the zone and the FCT to provide office space for the commission’s branches in their respective areas.