By Daniel Obaje/Mukhtar Dambatta
The Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Ahmadu, says regional growth commissions usually are not rivals of state and native governments however companions in bridging growth gaps.
Ahmadu gave the reassurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, amid issues over attainable duplication of tasks and obligations.
“The commissions are not coming in as competitors of state governments or local governments, no,” he mentioned,
The Minister confused that their institution was supposed to enrich current growth efforts.
According to him, the ministry engages state governors to conduct wants assessments and determine precedence tasks, with native authorities wants addressed via state governments.
He mentioned the Federal Ministry of Regional Development was established in October 2024 by President Bola Tinubu to coordinate growth commissions and formulate insurance policies for regional growth.
Ahmadu defined that the ministry emerged from the necessity to handle the peculiar challenges confronting Nigeria’s completely different areas via coordinated interventions tailor-made to their respective growth priorities.
He traced the origins of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to real agitations over environmental degradation, broken farmlands and polluted waters ensuing from oil exploration actions.
He additionally cited the North East Development Commission (NEDC), established to handle the implications of Boko Haram insurgency, together with displacement and injury to schooling, healthcare, roads and different infrastructure.
The minister mentioned the federal government subsequently established extra growth commissions to handle the precise wants of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with the ministry coordinating their actions.
He clarified that the NDDC remained a particular fee established to sort out the Niger Delta’s peculiar challenges and was separate from the six regional growth commissions.
According to him, though the commissions have completely different mandates and priorities, their frequent goal is to advertise growth and enhance the dwelling circumstances of individuals throughout the nation.
Ahmadu mentioned the South-East Development Commission would prioritise industrialisation, financial growth, infrastructure and deep gully erosion, challenges he described as peculiar to the area.
He added that the North-East required interventions addressing the lingering penalties of insurgency, whereas different areas would pursue growth priorities reflecting their respective circumstances.
The minister mentioned the ministry had developed a coverage doc after consultations throughout the nation, giving Nigerians alternatives to contribute concepts and determine regional growth wants.
He mentioned the doc had been offered to the National Economic Council, chaired by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, and was awaiting approval by the Federal Executive Council.
Ahmadu mentioned the coverage would information the ministry’s actions and supply a framework for coordinating the commissions whereas guaranteeing that regional interventions mirrored native wants.
“No governor is an enemy of development,” he mentioned, including that the commissions have been established to help state governments fairly than take over their constitutional obligations.
He mentioned the federal government’s final goal was to take growth to the grassroots, describing the method as a part of President Tinubu’s social contract with Nigerians.(NAN)
Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi
