The Arewa Consultative Forum, the umbrella body of the socio-cultural organization of the 19 Northern States, has praised President Bola Tinubu for signing the North West Development Commission Bill into law.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor T. A. Muhammad-Baba, the ACF said: “ACF extends warm appreciation and gratitude to the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for signing the bill into law. The Deputy President of the 10th Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin – the sponsor of the bill and all who contributed to enacting the law also deserve our gratitude.”
The ACF noted that the seven states comprising the North-West region, including Kebbi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara, have been developmentally challenged, with an estimated 45.5 million people (93%) living in multidimensional poverty as of 2022.
The statement continued: “The region that continues to be devastated by insecurity, banditry, and associated challenges, and indeed forming the ground zero of insecurity and terrorism, remains to be said that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the new law will utilize the resources allocated to the Commission to make a visible impact on the lives of the people.
“All hands must be on deck to see to it that the teeming and largely agrarian people of this area will have the dark clouds of underdevelopment removed from their environment in its totality. Once again, thanks, Mr. President, and all who ensured this law sees the light of day. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
