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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Governorship candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the North-West have proposed a joint security architecture across the seven states to tackle banditry and kidnapping, declaring that the region’s security crisis can no longer be fought state by state.
The plan would establish a North-West Regional Security Coordination Centre, integrating drones, shared intelligence and rapid-response networks across the region’s 21 senatorial districts to support security agencies.
The candidates also pledged a N110,000 minimum wage for workers across Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara if elected in 2027.
The commitments were contained in the North-West ADC Governorship Candidates’ Compact 2027–2031, signed in Abuja.
Reading the declaration, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and ADC governorship candidate in Kebbi State, Abubakar Malami, said insecurity had become a regional emergency requiring coordinated action.
According to figures cited by the candidates, more than 16,000 lives were lost to insecurity in the region between June 2023 and August 2026, while more than 10,000 people were abducted in 1,583 kidnapping incidents since January 2023.
They also claimed that tens of thousands of households had been displaced and more than 533,000 hectares of farmland abandoned in Zamfara and Katsina alone. “Our region is crisis ridden.”
The candidates linked insecurity to worsening hunger, declining agricultural production and the region’s education crisis.
“Insecurity has emptied our farms, and those empty farms have brought hunger, driven our children out of the classroom, and have denied them the education the region requires to dry up the recruitment pool for future banditry, kidnappings and all associated crimes.
“Our commitment is to reorient governance to respond effectively and efficiently to break this vicious cycle of crisis, and restore peace, security and normalcy to our region.”
Giving details of the proposed security architecture, they said: “We will deploy drones region-wide and establish a Northwest Regional Security Coordination Centre to combine lawful aerial surveillance, community intelligence, emergency reporting and geospatial data into a single chain: surveillance, early warning, command and control, verification and rapid response by the security agencies constitutionally empowered to act.”
Beyond security, the candidates pledged to implement a common ₦110,000 minimum wage across the seven states.
They also backed ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected President in 2027.
The candidates stressed that their regional compact would not surrender the constitutional autonomy of the individual states.
“We will not surrender the constitutional authority of our individual states, nor dissolve the distinct priorities of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara,” they said.
But on problems that transcend state boundaries, they pledged joint action.
“Where our people’s problems cross our borders, we commit to govern together to resolve them. We will coordinate our security architecture. We will hold ourselves to common standards.
“We will pool investment where pooling multiplies impact. We will open cross-border trade, share data, build joint infrastructure and speak with one voice in advocacy for our region,” they said.
