The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the socio-cultural organisation of the 19 Northern States, has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the North West Development Commission (NWDC) Bill into law.
President Tinubu had on Tuesday assented to the Bill sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, to accelerate development in the North West geopolitical zone, comprising Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara States.
The North-West Development Commission is set up to facilitate the reconstruction of roads, houses, and business premises destroyed by multidimensional crises and tackle poverty, literacy level, ecological problems, and any other related environmental or development challenges in North-West states.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, ACF, Professor T. A. Muhammad-Baba said the establishment of the commission would address the challenges facing the geopolitical zone.
“ACF extends warm appreciation and gratitude to the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for signing the bill into law. The Deputy President of the 10th Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin – the sponsor of the bill and all who contributed to enacting the law also deserve our gratitude.
” It is no exaggeration to say that the seven states comprising this region, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara, have been developmentally challenged.
” With an estimated total population of 49 million (or 28% of Nigeria’s total), 45.5 million (93%) remain in a state of multidimensional poverty, with an intensity ratio of 42.7%, as of 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Thus, the Northwest remains at the bottom of all Nigeria’s developmental indices and living conditions.
” The region that continues to be devastated by insecurity, banditry and associated challenges, and indeed forming the ground zero of insecurity and terrorism, remains to be said that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the new law will utilise the resources allocated to the Commission to make a visible impact on the lives of the people.
” All hands must be on deck to see to it that the teeming and largely agrarian people of this area will have the dark clouds of underdevelopment removed from their environment in its totality. Once again, thanks, Mr. President, and all who ensured this law sees the light of day. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” ACF stated.
