Senate urges NCDC to prioritise agriculture, security in 2026 budget
The Senate has urged the management of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC) to prioritise investments in agriculture and security in the implementation of its 2026 budget. The Chairman of the
The Senate has urged the management of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC) to prioritise investments in agriculture and security in the implementation of its 2026 budget.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on NCDC, Senator Titus Zam, made the call when the management of the commission appeared before the committee to defend its 2026 budget estimates.
The committee, at the commencement of the budget defence, went into a closed-door session to review the commission’s proposals.
Briefing journalists after the session, Zam said, “We have considered all the items on the estimates and found them very relevant and useful for the North-Central region.
“As a committee overseeing this commission, we have requested them to prioritise their expenditures in line with their mandate so that people of the North-Central region will benefit from their services and have value for resources that are allocated to them.”
He said the development mandate of the commission must be reflected in key sectors of the economy.
He listed priority sectors to include agriculture, security, health, education, public infrastructure and social services needed by the people.
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“You know that North-Central is mostly agricultural and so agriculture must take a pride of place and it has been so embedded in their budget.
“They are also thinking about working with security experts and other stakeholders in the North-Central region to see to it that they support security agencies to deliver on their mandate,” he added.
However, Zam said the committee was dissatisfied with the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget, noting that the challenge was not peculiar to the commission.
He said, “It was a national challenge as the 2025 budget had implementation issues.”
According to him, the committee considered the total estimate of N140 billion for the 2026 financial year and approved it for appropriation.
“This is the resolution of the committee; we hereby approve the total figure of N140 billion for the 2026 financial year for the commission,” he said.
