President Bola Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to ensure the timely release of all approved funds due to the country’s regional development commissions.
Tinubu gave the directive on Monday at the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) Summit, themed, “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic Infrastructure and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region.”
Akume, who represented the President at the summit, said the establishment of regional development commissions was part of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to accelerate development across the country.
“Government will continue to give the NCDC and other Regional Development Commissions the political and financial backing to embark on key projects that will unlock the economic and industrial potentials of the nation.
“I therefore direct the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to ensure that all funds accruable to the Commissions are released as and when due,” Tinubu said.
The President, however, urged the commissions not to depend solely on government funding, advising them to explore public-private partnerships, donor funding and development financing to execute transformative projects.
He said the commissions were expected to focus on strategic projects in rail transportation, aviation, industrialisation, security, investment, human capital development, education and healthcare.
Tinubu also warned the boards and management of the commissions against corruption, marginalisation, politicisation and the misuse of public resources.
“Such actions will not be tolerated, and government will not hesitate to sanction anyone found culpable,” he said.
The President stressed that the regional development commissions were not established to replace or duplicate the responsibilities of state and local governments or existing federal institutions.
He further charged the North Central Development Commission to support efforts to tackle insecurity in the region, noting that meaningful development could only take place in a stable environment.
Speaking at the summit, Nasarawa State Governor and Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum, Abdullahi Sule, said the region possessed the human and natural resources required to drive sustainable economic growth.
Sule highlighted the North Central’s potential in agriculture, mining and industrial production, stressing the need to move beyond the export of raw materials towards processing and value addition.
He cited the establishment of a cement factory in Kogi State as an example of how local processing could contribute to economic transformation.
The governor also said Nasarawa State had more than 400 steel licences when he assumed office in 2019 but lacked a processing plant despite its mineral resources.
According to him, the state has since become home to Nigeria’s largest and second-largest lithium processing plants.
“The North Central is the home of Benue cement. The North Central is the home of rice production. The North Central is the home of sesame production. So we have it all. Whatever it is that we are looking for, we have it,” Sule said.
He said the major requirement was leadership capable of developing and implementing long-term development plans.
“What do we need more? We need thinkers. We need implementers. We need people who understand what it means to lead,” he said.
Sule also commended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, saying they had increased the revenues available to the federal, state and local governments.
