The North West Development Commission (NWDC) is embroiled in an internal crisis over a scholarship programme.
The board of the commission alleged that the scheme was not discussed at any of its meetings; while the management claimed to have informed the chairman of the board about it via a memo.
Some members of the board of the commission, who spoke to Daily Trust, accused the management of taking unilateral decisions.
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The Managing Director of the NWDC, Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, said the management, through a memo, notified the chairman of the commission, Lawal Samaila Abdullahi, about the proposed scholarship, as required by the Act of the commission.
The controversy is sequel to a recent announcement of applications for NWDC scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students from the zone.
The commission had, last week, announced the opening of the applications for 2025/2026 undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships at universities in India, Malaysia, Canada, China and Indonesia.
The applications are for students in Engineering, Medical Sciences, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Education.
This is coming amidst federal government’s announcement to suspend Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) programme for five years, as announced by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.
However, a few days after the announcement, some board members of the commission denied that the policy was discussed at any of their meetings.
A member of the board of the commission, member, who spoke to Daily Trust anonymously, said they were not aware of the scholarship programme.
He said the programme was never discussed at any meeting.
He alleged “external influence in crafting and releasing the announcement without following due process.”
Two other board members contacted declined comment on the issue and asked our reporter to contact the managing director or the board chairman.
Announcement fake, we never discussed it – Board chair
Speaking to Daily Trust on the issue, the chairman of the commission’s board, Lawal Samaila Abdullahi, described the announcement of the scholarship application as fake.
He said it was never discussed in any of their meetings.
He said: “The announcement is fake. I know other members are protesting about it, but I cannot say exactly what happened because we haven’t deliberated it. But have summoned a board meeting this Thursday to discuss the issue.”
Asked whether it was a decision of the management alone, the board chairman said there is no management as it had not been fully appointed.
When asked to react to the memo which the managing director said was written to him, the chairman declined comment, asking our reporter to wait for the outcome of their meeting on Thursday.
Our action in line with the law – MD
In his reaction, the Managing Director of the commission, Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, noted that the Act that established the commission categorically states that their mandate is just to inform the board chairman about any key policy.
He said he had done that via a memo dated 28th April, 2025 which was sighted by our reporter.
“I am pleased to notify you of a proposed foreign scholarship programme for indigenes of the seven (7) member-states of the North West region.
The programme aims to provide opportunities for students to pursue higher education in reputable institutions abroad…The objective of this scholarship is to empower the youth of our member states with knowledge, skills and global perspectives to contribute to the development of our region.
“We will be sharing details about the application process, eligibility criteria, and requirements, in due course. This notification is for your information and records,” the memo read in part.
Speaking to our reporter yesterday, Ma’aji said, “What we only did so far is request for screening, we haven’t sent anybody abroad, and we only commenced initiating the process and we did not break any law since we haven’t engaged anyone yet.
“The real issue is we are doing this to benefit children of the less privileged, and they don’t like it, that is the real issue.
“Again, we are not even going to use all our money to unilaterally fund the programme, it is a kind of bilateral scholarship agreement where the countries will settle the tuition fees either in full or half, and we just complete the remaining.
“Remember, our region is always at the back in the education sector. So, we feel this is supposed to be one of our earliest interventions to change that narrative”.
The MD accused the board of “looking for an issue where there is none.”
He said, “Ordinarily, I even went to our minister and explained to him and he understands. What we are after is anything that will bring development to our region. I told them I won’t compromise on that.”
Ma’aji debunked the allegation of external control, saying “even if it is true, there is no harm in being guided to do the right thing.”
About the commission
The NWDC was created under the National Development Commission Act of 2023 and is modelled after similar commissions like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
It is one of the regional development commissions established by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address developmental challenges and foster economic growth.
The commission is to cater for the seven states in the North-West geopolitical zone: Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.
The president signed the bill that established the commission in July last year.
Two months later, he appointed the commission’s governing board to include Lawal Sama’ila Abdullahi as chairman and Abdullahi Shehu Ma’aji, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
Members are; Yahaya Umar Namahe, Aminu Suleiman, Muhammad Ali Wudil, Shamsu Sule, Nasidi Ali, Professor Jafar Abubakar Sadeeq, Dr Yahaya Aminu Abdulhadi, Nasidi Ali Birnin Kudu, Aminu Suleiman, Chukwu Chijioke, Engr Ahmed Rufai Tumasaniyu, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, Dr Michael MacDonalds Uyi and Babatunde Dada.
The NWDC has the mandate of catalysing significant growth, economic empowerment and social development of the region that has a population of over 45 million people.
It is to be situated in Kano and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has donated over N5 billion worth of land for the construction of its headquarters. The land was carved out from the state’s owned Abubakar Rimi Television (ARTV) located on Maiduguri Road, Hotoro area of Kano.
A philanthropist and founder/president of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN) Kano, Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, has also donated a seven-storey building along the Murtala Muhammed Way in Kano to serve as the NWDC’s temporary headquarters, pending completion of its permanent building.
The commission is coming on board when the region is battling challenges of insecurity (especially banditry and kidnapping), out-of-school children and infrastructural deficit among others.
The Act setting up commission
According to the NWDC Act 2024 (as amended) the Managing Director and Board Chairman have distinct but complementary roles in driving development across the region. Specifically, the MD is the chief executive officer of the commission and is responsible for its day-to-day operations including executing policies and programmes approved by the board, managing infrastructure, economic, and social development projects, collaborating with government agencies, investors, and local communities, financial management as well as providing updates to the board on progress and challenges.
On the other hand, the board chairman leads the governing board, which provides strategic direction and oversight, with responsibilities that include setting the vision and long-term goals for the commission, ensuring transparency, accountability, and adherence to regulations, sanctioning budgets, projects, and key appointments, guiding the MD and his executive team as well as acting as the commission’s public face in high-level engagements.
The board consists of 15 members, the chairman, one member from each of the member-states, and six others to represent the six geopolitical zones.
The commission came into being recently and only secured a temporary site to use as its headquarters last month.
If successfully implemented, this scholarship programme will be the first major project of the commission.
Previous controversy
The commission had its first controversy a few weeks after its creation on who would become its pioneer head.
The Act that established the commission clearly states that its leadership will be rotated among the seven states of the zone alphabetically.
This, according to the Act, Jigawa will produce the first head.
But some people from the zone insisted that the first managing director come from Kano.
This caused the Act to be taken back to the National Assembly for amendment.
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