Tinubu Orders Release of NCDC Funds as North-central Unveils 20-Year Development Plan

* President directs SGF to ensure timely release of funds to regional commissions 

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to ensure the timely release of funds accruable to the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) and other regional development commissions, even as the Federal Government moves to establish a unified policy framework for regional development.

Tinubu, who was represented by Akume at the first-ever North Central Stakeholders’ Development Summit in Abuja on Monday, said adequate and timely funding was necessary to enable the commissions execute strategic projects capable of unlocking the economic and industrial potential of their regions.

The president, however, warned the commissions against depending solely on government funding and against becoming conduits for waste, urging them to mobilise private capital and explore Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), donor funding and development financing.

“There is no excuse for the commissions to become another conduit pipe for wasting public funds,” Tinubu said.

The summit, with the theme, ‘A Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for North Central Region,’ brought together governors and representatives of the six North-central states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), traditional rulers, religious leaders, youths, women, academics, development partners and private-sector operators.

Tinubu said the creation of regional development commissions was part of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to accelerate development and close longstanding gaps across the country.

He stressed that the commissions were not established to replace, duplicate or usurp the functions of existing tiers of government, but to complement them by addressing development deficits that had persisted over the years.

The president charged the commissions to focus on roads, rail transportation, air transport, industrialisation, security, investment, human capital development, education and healthcare, particularly projects capable of unlocking regional potential and improving connectivity across the country.

He also warned the boards and managements of the commissions against corruption, marginalisation, politicisation and ethnic considerations in the implementation of government programmes, saying those found culpable would be sanctioned.

“Development must be about the people and not on paper,” he said.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NCDC, Dr Cyril Tsenyil, said the commission was determined to move the North-central from a collection of states with enormous but fragmented potential into a coordinated regional economy with integrated infrastructure, investable projects and shared prosperity.

Presenting the commission’s draft 20-year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan, Tsenyil said the summit was designed to be a turning point rather than another conference where stakeholders exchanged speeches and returned to “business as usual”.

He said the plan was based on the understanding that major infrastructure and economic transformation could not be achieved within a single electoral cycle.

According to him, the North-central occupies a strategic position in Nigeria’s economic geography, connecting northern and southern markets, hosting the nation’s capital and possessing vast agricultural land, water and mineral resources, a young population and a growing base of universities and enterprises.

He said the challenge was to convert those resources into productive assets, competitive businesses, quality jobs and measurable improvements in the lives of residents.

The NCDC, established under the North Central Development Commission (Establishment) Act, 2024, covers Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the FCT.

Its mandate includes transportation, agriculture, security, entrepreneurship, industrialisation, employment, health, education, housing, water, electricity and telecommunications.

Tsenyil said the commission would not replace state governments or duplicate existing federal institutions, but would operate as a regional coordination, development and investment-enabling platform.

He said the region must move from state-by-state competition to regional collaboration, noting that investors viewed the area through markets, supply chains, resources, labour pools and economic corridors rather than political boundaries.

He advocated the transformation of agricultural production into agro-industrial value chains, the processing of minerals within the region and the integration of roads, railways, waterways and dry ports into regional economic corridors.

The NCDC disclosed that discussions had commenced with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on a proposed regional railway network, the revival of Ajaokuta Steel, dredging of the Rivers Benue and Niger, Baro Port and the Jos Dry Inland Port.

The commission said such projects should no longer be viewed as isolated state projects but as interconnected infrastructure capable of reducing the cost of doing business and opening new economic corridors.

It also disclosed discussions with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development on a possible Special Purpose Vehicle for the minerals sector, with emphasis on value addition, responsible mining and formalisation of artisanal mining activities.

Tsenyil said the NCDC would use the summit to move investment discussions beyond speeches and memoranda into concrete project pipelines and commitments.

He said investment opportunities from the six states and the FCT would be subjected to structured ‘Deal Rooms’, where projects would be classified according to their level of readiness.

Tier One projects, he said, would be those ready for investment, Tier Two projects would require further structuring, while Tier Three projects would remain at the conceptual stage.

The commission said investors required credible data, feasibility studies, land information, revenue models, risk-allocation frameworks and confidence that projects would survive changes in administration.

Possible funding sources, according to the NCDC, include federal and state resources, development finance, commercial capital, foreign and domestic private investment, PPPs, concessions, grants and blended financing.

Tsenyil said the commission’s philosophy was to use public funds to unlock much larger pools of private capital, a strategy underpinning its board-approved investment company.

In a related development, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Hon. Uba Maigari Ahmadu, said the Federal Government was at an advanced stage of harmonising a National Regional Development Policy for 2026–2030.

Ahmadu, who spoke at the summit, said the policy was being developed by the Ministry of Regional Development in collaboration with the National Economic Council, the six regional development commissions, the National Regional Development Policy Drafting Team and development partners.

He said the policy, which would be submitted to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), would provide a single national framework within which the regional development commissions could plan, prioritise projects and mobilise resources.

“This policy will, for the first time, provide a single, coherent national architecture within which the North Central Development Commission and its sister commissions can plan, prioritize and mobilize resources,” he said.

The minister recalled the North Central Zonal Validation Workshop held in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where stakeholders contributed to the development of priorities that now inform the draft national policy.

He urged participants at the Abuja summit to further scrutinise the priorities for infrastructure, agriculture, human capital, security and investment that should form the foundation of the North Central Master Plan.

Ahmadu also called for greater participation by the private sector and development partners, saying government alone could not finance the scale of transformation required in the region.

He said the ministry and NCDC were open to partnerships involving blended finance, public-private infrastructure arrangements, agribusiness investment and technical collaboration.

The minister urged the governors and state representatives to maintain close collaboration with the NCDC, stressing that the success of the regional development agenda would ultimately be measured in communities across Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the FCT, rather than in Abuja.

He assured stakeholders that the ministry would work with the NCDC to track the implementation of the summit’s resolutions and ensure that they fed into the National Regional Development Policy and its implementation plan.

The assurance echoed Tinubu’s warning that the summit must not become another forum where ideas were generated and reports produced without implementation.

The president also acknowledged the security challenges confronting the North-central, saying the Federal Government had intensified surveillance and intelligence gathering, established additional security formations, deployed more personnel, increased prosecution of criminals and supported dialogue and reconciliation.

He tasked the NCDC with supporting efforts to stabilise the region, stressing that sustainable development required peace and security.