President Tinubu Appoints New Nominees For N’West, S’East Development Commissions

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has tendered a revised list of nominees for the Governing Boards of the North West Development Commission and the South East Development Commission to the Senate for confirmation.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday.

In the updated nominations, Alhaji Lawal Samai’la Abdullahi has been named Chairman of the NWDC, replacing Ambassador Haruna Ginsau from the initial list.

The new members of the NWDC board include Ja’afar Abubakar Sadeeq and Yahaya Aminu Abdulhadi, with Professor Abdullahi Shehu Ma’aji retaining his position as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

It read, “In a list of nominees sent to the Senate late in September 2024, President Tinubu nominated Ambassador Haruna Ginsau as chairman of the NWDC board while also naming Senator Tijani Yahaya Kaura and Hon. Abdulkadir S. Usman as members.

“The new list replaced them with Ja’afar Abubakar Sadeeq and Yahaya Aminu Abdulhadi, while the new chairman is Alh Lawal Samai’la Abdullahi.”

The statement added, “Other board members featured on the first list are Dr. Yahaya Umar Namahe, Yahaya Aminu Abdulhadi, and Engr. Muhammad Ali Wudil, Shamsu Sule, Nasidi Ali and Aminu Suleiman.

“After receiving the President’s first list of nominations, the Senate adjusted the NWDC’s establishment act to accommodate members from other geo-political zones.”

The revised nominations reflect adjustments made by the Senate to the NWDC’s establishment act, which now mandates representation from all six geopolitical zones.

The representatives include Chukwu Chijioke, Ahmed Mohammed, Engr. Ahmed Rufai Timasaniyu, Macdonalds Michael Uyi, Yemi Ola, and Hon. Babatunde Dada.

For the SEDC, Tinubu has nominated Hon. Emeka Atuma as Chairman and Hon. Mark C. Okoye as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

Other board members include Ugochukwu H. Agballah, Hon. Okey Ezenwa, Chief Hyacinth Ikpor, and Hon. Donatus Eyinnah Nwankpa, among others.

Additional appointees to the SEDC board include Edward David Onoja, Orure Kufre Inima, and Chie Joke Adebayo-Chukwuma.

Prince Obinna Obiekweihe, Executive Director (Projects); Sen. Anthony O. Agbo, Executive Director, Finance and Administration; and Dr. Daniel Ikechukwu Ugwuja, Executive Director (Corporate Services), were also nominated.

Tinubu laid emphasis on the importance of the commissions in fostering regional development and expressed confidence in the appointees’ ability to deliver on their mandates for the benefit of their regions.