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Poor  funding could undermine the ability of the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) to deliver on its mandate, the Senate has said, insisting that the N2.9 billion monthly allocation being released to the commission is only “a drop in the ocean” compared to its N140 billion budget  allocation for 2026.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission, Titus Zam, sounded the warning while briefing journalists after an interactive session between the committee and the commission’s management at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

According to him, the current monthly release would amount to less than half of the commission’s approved budget if maintained throughout the year, expressing optimism that the federal government would increase funding as the commission becomes fully operational.

“If you give someone that has a budget of N140 billion, N2.9 billion per month, in 12 months, it won’t be up to half of the entire budgetary sum,” Zam said.

“I suppose that is just a temporary package. When the commission finally comes to fruition, much more funds will be released. So we thank Mr President and the Executive for dropping something now, but we look forward to more.”

The lawmaker, however, assured that the Senate Committee would ensure the prudent utilisation of the funds already released by providing effective oversight and guiding the commission on areas of priority.

He urged the commission to focus its interventions on agriculture, security and rural development, stressing that the North Central region is largely agrarian and continues to face serious security challenges.

“North Central is mostly an agricultural land. We have arable land, we have good rainfall and vegetation. There is policy for agriculture. We need the department of NCDC to take agriculture very seriously.

“We also have a challenge of insecurity. The commission is advised to support the security forces and state governments to complement their efforts towards mitigating the tide of insecurity within the region.

“We also ask them to take rural development very seriously because we are also rural in nature,” Zam said.

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says Nigeria recorded an increase in confirmed Lassa fever cases during epidemiological week 26 of 2026, with 31 new infections reported, up from 22 the previous week.

The new confirmed cases were recorded in Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba and Benue states, according to the latest NCDC Lassa fever situation report released by the public health agency on Friday.

The report showed that 221 deaths have been recorded cumulatively in 2026, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 24.0 per cent, higher than the 18.7 per cent reported in 2025.

It stated that 23 states had reported at least one confirmed Lassa fever case across 111 Local Government Areas, indicating the continued geographic spread of the disease nationwide in 2026.

According to the report, 85 per cent of all confirmed cases originated from Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue states, while the remaining 15 per cent were reported elsewhere.

The report said Ondo accounted for the highest proportion of confirmed cases at 30 per cent, followed by Bauchi with 26 per cent, Taraba with 14 per cent, Edo with nine per cent, and Benue.

It revealed that people aged between 21 and 30 years remained the most affected group, although confirmed cases ranged from one to 93 years, with a median age.

The report also showed that the male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases stood at 1:0.9, suggesting nearly equal infection rates between males and females across affected states.

Health authorities noted that both suspected and confirmed Lassa fever cases increased compared with the corresponding period in 2025, while one healthcare worker was infected during week 26.

The report added that the National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System remains activated to coordinate surveillance, case management, risk communication and response activities nationwide.

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The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) on Tuesday issued 21-day nationwide indefinite strike notice to the Federal Government despite commending some of the recent initiatives of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

NAMDA President, Dr Nosa Orhue, announced the strike ultimatum on Tuesday in Abuja after the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

However, Orhue commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for efforts to improve university education.

He also hailed the Minister of Education for supporting salary parity for medical academics.

He also lauded the Federal Government’s preparedness for a possible Ebola outbreak and pledged the association’s support toward strengthening the country’s public health response.

But the NAMDA President said members of the association would embark on nationwide, indefinite strike if the Federal Government failed to resolve outstanding remuneration and welfare concerns of its members in the next 21 days.

He said the union expected government to conclude negotiations within the period, warning that NEC would reconvene to determine its next line of action if talks failed.

According to him, NAMDA had engaged government through dialogue for more than 24 months without meaningful progress.

Orhue said the association was dissatisfied that negotiations on the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement had remained stalled since April 9, in spite of repeated engagements.

He alleged that while improved welfare packages had been implemented for other university unions, NAMDA members remained excluded, resulting in non-payment of earned academic and professorial allowances and worsening brain drain among medical academics.

The NAMDA president attributed the dispute largely to salary disparities between university-based medical lecturers and hospital consultants performing identical professional duties.

He explained that medical academics combine teaching, research and clinical responsibilities, including patient care, surgeries and hospital administration.

According to him, they earn less than their counterparts in the hospital system despite maintaining the same professional qualifications and practicing licenses.

Orhue said the Federal Government had previously recognised the unique status of medical academics through their placement on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).

The NAMDA President added that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, had supported salary parity and communicated the position to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

He, however, alleged that some government agencies were frustrating implementation of the agreement.

Orhue reaffirmed that the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) remained the only acceptable salary framework for medical and dental academics.

He warned that any attempt to replace it with another structure could trigger industrial action.

He also rejected what he described as the forced migration of members of NAMDA above 65 years from CONMESS to the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS).

According to him, the move amounts to a demotion and results in financial losses for affected academics.

He said the association was also demanding implementation of special pension benefits for retired hospital-based academics and opposed the National Universities Commission’s requirement for medical academics to obtain PhD qualifications.

(NAN)