A youth organization from Plateau State has formally rejected President Bola Tinubu's nominee for the leadership of the newly established North Central Development Commission (NCDC).
The Concerned Plateau Youth Forum issued a statement on Wednesday calling for the immediate withdrawal of Mr. Cyril Tsenyil's nomination as Managing Director of the Commission, which was recently established by the National Assembly to accelerate development across states in the North Central region.
According to the group's spokesperson, Danladi Pam, Tsenyil's nomination was politically influenced through Senator Simon Lalong, under whose governorship Tsenyil served as Plateau State Accountant General.
"Mr. Tsenyil's nomination is not only unpopular among Plateau people, but it is also an insult to the collective sensibilities of the North Central region," the statement read. "How can such a strategic and sensitive position be handed to someone simply because he served as an accountant to Senator Lalong?"
The youth forum described the nomination as demonstrating "favoritism, cronyism, and total disregard for competence and broad-based representation," questioning Tsenyil's record during his tenure as accountant.
The group disclosed plans to submit a formal protest letter to the leadership of the National Assembly, urging both chambers to reject Tsenyil's confirmation during the screening process.
"We are submitting a detailed petition to the National Assembly, highlighting why Mr. Tsenyil should not be confirmed. The North Central deserves better. We deserve a competent, visionary, and widely acceptable leader to steer the affairs of the Commission," Pam added.
The Concerned Plateau Youth Forum emphasized the importance of merit-based appointments for the new commission to avoid repeating what they described as mistakes made with similar development commissions in other regions.
The North Central Development Commission was recently established to coordinate and accelerate development initiatives across states in the region, similar to commissions created for other geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
