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Senate Confirms Chairman, Members of North-East Development Commission
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The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday confirmed a retired army major-general, Paul Tarfa, as chairman of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
The Senate also confirmed Mohammed Alkali as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the commission and nine others as members of the board of the commission.
The members are Musa Yashi, ED Humanitarian Affairs; Mohammed Jawa, Executive Director, Admin and Finance; Omar Mohammed, Executive Director, Operations and David Kente, member representing North East zone.
Others are Asmau Mohammed, member representing North West zone; Benjamin Adanyi, Member representing North Central zone; Olawale Oshun, member representing South West zone; T.E.O Ekechi, member representing South-East and Obasuke McDonald, memb
er representing South-South zone.
The Senate, in October 2016, passed the bill for the establishment of the North East Development Commission to coordinate the rebuilding of the insurgency-ravaged North East region of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the bill in October, 2017.
The confirmation of the nominees was made after Abdulaziz Nyako, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties, presented the report of the committee.
He said all the nominees met the requirements for their appointment.
Prior to the confirmation, Binta Garba, frowned at the fact that the headquarters of the commission is located in Borno State and the MD of the commission, Mr Alkali, is also from the state.
“The commission is domiciled in Borno State and the CEO is also from Borno State. Is it in consonance with the ideal of the commission within and outside Nigeria?
“For example, the President of the United Nations is not from America. We need to get some clarifications. Late Wakili asked that the headquarters should be in Bauchi State but he was shut down,” she said.
In his response, Mr Nyako explained that during the debate at the Senate, the position was left open.
He said members of the House of Representatives, however, called for zoning and thus voted in that manner.
“In our bill, we left it open. During the public hearings, we agreed if the headquarters is in Borno then someone else should be the MD; but in concurrence with the House of Representatives, more inclined to the MD from Borno.
“It was the House bill that went with zoning and their votes were overwhelming than ours,” he said.
In his remark, Ibn Na’Allah, said the observations are valid because it relates to international organisations.
“Certain peculiarities demonstrate certain actions. The entire bill is associated to the beginning of insurgency in Borno State and Adamawa is close to it. In the selection, Tarfa is from Adamawa.
“The choice of Alkali is based on the assumption that there is quick establishment and its running. What swayed the Senate and reps to choose Alkali is entirely a legislative action,” he said.
The Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, said the nominees are eminently qualified and prepared to hit the ground running.
He, therefore, urged the committee on special duties to ensure the taking off of the commission as he said the situation in the North East requires it to take off immediately.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, simply called for the commencement of an oversight for the commission.
“This is not the first time we are showing such concern. NDDC bill was originated by the National Assembly. The bill was vetoed by the executive but it was upturned. It shows the same character of concern.
“The NDDC is steeped in a lot of protocol and bureaucracy. So this commission should learn from that. The parliament should start an oversight of this agency.”
The Senate thereafter disolved into the committee of the whole to confirm the nominees.
Premium Times
A former head coach of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen, has been appointed to lead Nigeria’s Super Falcons on a temporary basis as the search for a permanent manager continues.
His immediate assignment is navigating the 2028 Olympic Games second-round qualifying tie against Comoros this October.
Eguavoen brings top-tier experience to the role, having previously guided the Super Eagles to a bronze medal at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Joining the interim technical crew is Nasarawa Amazons head coach Christopher Danjuma, who recently led the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf – who earned 68 caps and featured at the 2008 Beijing Olympics – also joins as an assistant coach, alongside veteran goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa.
The 10-time African champions will kick off their campaign against Comoros, who advanced after a staggering 30-0 aggregate win over Sudan.
Both legs of the fixture will take place at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on October 9 and 13, 2026.
To secure one of Africa’s two spots at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, Nigeria must navigate four two-legged knockout rounds.
Should they beat Comoros, the Super Falcons will move on to the third round in early 2027 to face either Morocco or the Democratic Republic of Congo. Subsequent rounds are set for late 2027, where potential clashes against sides like Cameroon, South Africa, or Zambia loom in the final stretch.
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, has accused a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna.
Musa made the allegation while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The minister said El-Rufai’s administration created deep divisions in Kaduna State, alleging that the situation made it difficult for residents from Southern Kaduna to live freely in the northern part of the State and vice versa.
According to him, the administration of the current governor, Uba Sani, has made deliberate efforts to restore unity and rebuild trust among residents of the State.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the country, the State, into two. In that, if you are from the South, you cannot go to the North and live. Those ones from the North were moving to the South.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100%. Let me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Speaking on the feelings of people in Southern Kaduna towards the former governor, Musa said the people remained deeply pained over killings recorded in the area during El-Rufai’s tenure.
He alleged that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killing of people in the region.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
The Defence Minister said residents of Southern Kaduna were still traumatised by the killings that occurred during the period, adding that the security situation in the area had improved under the current administration.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
Musa further accused El-Rufai of denying some people opportunities during his administration and alleged that the former governor’s policies affected even people from his own part of the state.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
The minister, however, called on Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit religion, ethnicity and other differences to divide the country.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” Musa said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the State.”
President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja, the nation’s capital on Sunday for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that Tinubu’s first stop will be London, United Kingdom.
The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier this month went on two-week leave, his first since the Tinubu government assumed office over three years ago. He has since returned.
