Group writes Tinubu, cautions against dropping Ginsau as NWDC’s chairman
On September 28, Tinubu appointed Ginsau, a diplomat and administrator from Jigawa state, as the chairman of the NWDC’s governing board.
By Idris Temidayo
The Northern Youth Ambassador for Peace and Development Initiative (NYAPDI), a civil society organisation (CSO), has written President Bola Tinubu on the delay in the confirmation of Haruna Ginsau as the pioneer chairman of the North West Development Commission (NWDC).
On September 28, Tinubu appointed Ginsau, a diplomat and administrator from Jigawa state, as the chairman of the NWDC’s governing board.
In an open letter to Tinubu said article 4 of the Act establishing the NWDC states that “the office of the chairman shall rotate among the member states of the commission in alphabetical order.”
Muhammad Sani, chairman of NYAPDI, who signed the letter said The clause gives Jigawa state the advantage to produce the pioneer chairman of the board.
“It was also gathered that the initiators of the Act had proposed this rotation to guard against a situation where the board’s chairman and managing director of the NWDC would come from the same state,” the letter reads.
“However, the senate on October 24 decided to recall and amend the act establishing the NWDC, citing the fact that the Act did not give room for representation from other geopolitical zones.”
Sai said the group has noticed that the senate in carrying out the amendment removed the clause mandating the rotational chairmanship of the commission among member states.
“During the senate proceedings on October 24, 2024, Article 4 of the act was amended, and the clause, ‘the office of the chairman shall rotate among the member states of the commission in alphabetical order,’ was removed,” he alleged.
He noted that the development is an attempt to marginalise Jigawa, noting that it could pave the way for the chairmanship to be diverted to another state, undermining the trust and confidence of people of the state.
“Any reversal of Ambassador Haruna Ginsau’s appointment would be seen as a disheartening affront to this trust and to our collective contributions to the nation,” he said.
Sani called on the federal government to prioritise fairness, equity, and justice in managing the commission’s affairs, saying that the delay in confirming Ginsau’s appointment has given rise to apprehension in the state.
