Tinubu orders release of funds to regional development commissions

President Bola Tinubu on Monday directed that funds appropriated for the regional development commissions be released, telling a North Central summit in Abuja that the new bodies were not created to sit on paper.

The North Central Development Commission hosted the first of what the Villa is calling a round of stakeholder summits. Governors, traditional rulers and contractors filled the hall. The mood was expectant and slightly sceptical — Nigeria has a long history of commissions that announce themselves, print a logo, and then wait years for a first cheque.

Tinubu’s instruction was simple: move the money. Officials said the presidency wants visible work — roads, erosion control, small industrial parks — before the 2027 campaign turns every project into a poster. Whether the finance ministry and the budget office treat the order as an actual cash release, or as another speech, will be clear within weeks.

North Central states have a particular list: the Abuja–Lokoja corridor, rural feeder roads in Benue and Kogi, and flood defences along the Niger. Delegates argued that if the commissions become another layer of bureaucracy between state governments and the centre, they will fail before they start.

A senior official at the summit, speaking after the session, put it more bluntly: “The president has said release. Now we will see who is holding the file.”