President Bola Tinubu has officially assigned portfolios to five newly appointed Executive Directors on the Board of the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), in a move signalling renewed focus on coordinated regional development. The announcement was made on September 15, 2025, in Abuja, by Segun Imohiosen, spokesperson for the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
According to the statement, the president has charged the five directors with working closely alongside the governing council of the NCDC to promote sustainable regional development and coordinate progress across the North-Central geopolitical zone.
Here are the five appointees and their respective portfolios:
1. Hajiya Biliquis Jumoke — Administration and Human Resources
2. Aisha Rufai Ibrahim — Commercial and Industrial Development
3. James Abel Uloko — Corporate Services
4. Muhammad Bashar — Finance
5. Atika Ajanah — Projects
Earlier in the year, the bill establishing the North Central Development Commission into law was signed by President Tinubu. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had revealed this development during plenary on February 4, 2025, highlighting that the law was intended to strengthen infrastructure, economy, and grassroots development in the region.
Tinubu’s move follows the establishment of similar development commissions for all six geopolitical zones of the country, after scrapping the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in the interest of what the administration describes as fairness and justice.
The portfolios now assigned are expected to help sharpen the NCDC’s focus in key administrative areas, industrial growth, finance, projects execution, and corporate service delivery. Stakeholders will now watch how quickly the commission moves to translate these administrative choices into visible results across the North-Central zone.
