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The Senate has called on 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 review the proposals submitted by the commission.

Addressing journalists after the session, Zam said the committee had scrutinised the estimates and found them relevant to the development needs of the North-Central region.

“We have considered all the items on the estimates and found them very relevant and useful for the north-central region,” he said. “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 must align its interventions with key 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,” Zam said.

He listed priority sectors 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,” he said.

“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.”

The committee, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of the capital component of the commission’s 2025 budget, though Zam noted that the challenge was not unique to the NCDC.

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

He disclosed that the committee considered the commission’s proposed total budget of N140 billion for the 2026 financial year and approved it 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 unfolded shortly after the budget defence session as 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 a.m., ended shortly after 11 a.m. Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly arrived around noon and expressed displeasure that the exercise had concluded before her arrival. She was said to have stormed out of the committee room and proceeded to the chairman’s office after a brief confrontation with committee staff.

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

“You can’t continue to disrespect me like this,” Akpoti-Uduaghan was quoted as saying in high tones, before taking a chair and sitting in front of the chairman’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.

“Must you go live on everything?” Zam’s secretary was quoted as responding. The remark allegedly angered members of the senator’s team, and in the ensuing commotion, one of her aides reportedly slapped the secretary.

The incident reportedly degenerated into a physical fight among the aides, with Akpoti-Uduaghan’s security aide allegedly attempting to bring out his gun before being overpowered and disarmed by aides in Zam’s office. Senator Zam was not present during the incident.