Senate tasks NCDC to prioritise agriculture, security in 2026 budget

…As Natasha clashes with chairman’s aides

The Senate has urged the management of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC) to prioritise investments in agriculture and security in the implementation of its 2026 budget.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on NCDC, Senator Titus Zam, made the call when the commission’s management appeared before the committee to defend its 2026 budget estimates.

The committee went into a closed-door session shortly after the commencement of the budget defence to consider the proposals presented by the commission.

Addressing journalists after the session, Zam said: “We have considered all the items on the estimates and found them very relevant and useful for the north-central region.

“As a committee overseeing this commission, we have requested them to prioritise their expenditures in line with their mandate so that people of the north-central region will benefit from their services and have value for the resources that are allocated to them.”

He stressed that the commission’s development mandate must address critical sectors of the economy.

“The specific development mandate of the commission cannot just be in a vacuum. It has to fill certain sectors of the economy,” he said.

Zam listed the priority areas to include agriculture, security, health, education, public infrastructure and social services.

“You know that the north-central is mostly agricultural, so agriculture must take pride of place, and it has been so embedded in their budget.

“They are also thinking about working with security experts and other stakeholders in the north-central region to see to it that they support security agencies to deliver on their mandate.”

However, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of the capital component of the commission’s 2025 budget.

He noted, nonetheless, that the challenge was not peculiar to the NCDC.

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“It is a national challenge, as the 2025 budget has had implementation issues,” he said.

According to him, the committee considered the total estimate of N140 billion for the 2026 financial year and approved the proposed sum for appropriation.

“This is the resolution of the committee: we hereby approve the total figure of N140 billion for the 2026 financial year for the commission,” Zam said.

Mild Drama After Budget Session

Meanwhile, mild drama unfolded shortly after the budget defence session as the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, reportedly confronted the office of the committee chairman over the scheduling of the meeting in her absence.

The session, scheduled for 10 am, ended shortly after 11 am, Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly arrived around noon and expressed displeasure that the exercise had concluded before her arrival.

She allegedly stormed out of the committee room and proceeded to the chairman’s office after a brief confrontation with some committee staff.

At the chairman’s office, she was said to have had an altercation with the secretary, while one of her aides brought out a phone to record the exchange. An aide to Zam reportedly seized the phone, which triggered further tension.

While at the office, she spoke in high tones saying, “You can’t continue to disrespect me like this,” before taking a chair and sitting in front of her colleague’s office, temporarily obstructing entry and exit.

As the situation escalated, she reportedly brought out her phone and announced she was going live on social media.

Zam’s secretary was said to have responded, “Must you go live on everything?”

The remark allegedly angered members of the senator’s team, and in the ensuing commotion, one of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s aides reportedly slapped the secretary.

This led to a physical fight amongst the aides, further leading to her security aide attempting to bring out his gun, but the aides at Zam’s office quickly overpowered him and disarmed him.

Throughout the incident, Zam did not appear at the scene.