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..North Central governors will support and partner with NCDC in developing the region. Gov. Sule
By Abel Leonard, Lafiaoʻ
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has challenged the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) to adopt a new approach to development and avoid repeating strategies that have failed to address the region’s persistent challenges.
Tinubu gave the charge on Monday while declaring open the first Stakeholders Development Summit organised by the NCDC at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the President said the Regional Development Commissions were established under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to accelerate development and close longstanding gaps across the country.
He, however, warned that the commissions must not become agencies for “business as usual” or replicate approaches that had failed to deliver meaningful development in the past.
According to him, the NCDC and other Regional Development Commissions were not established to replace, duplicate or usurp the responsibilities of any tier of government, but to identify persistent development gaps and work towards closing them.
“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 described the theme of the summit, “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region,” as well conceived.
He said the theme demonstrated the commission’s determination to develop a consensus-driven policy capable of guiding its interventions across the region.
Tinubu also pledged adequate political and financial support for the NCDC and other regional commissions to enable them execute projects capable of unlocking the economic and industrial potential of the country.
Nasarawa State Governor and Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, commended Tinubu for establishing the NCDC, describing it as an opportunity to unlock the enormous development potential of the region.
Sule said the North Central possessed abundant raw materials which, if processed locally, could create greater economic value, employment and opportunities for the people.
He assured the commission that the North Central governors were ready to support and partner with it in developing the region.
The Chairman of the occasion, retired AVM Mohammed Ndatsu Umaru, urged the NCDC to identify projects capable of making significant impact on the overall development of the region.
He said development interventions should be based on identified problems and promote inter-state connectivity.
Umaru said the commission must lay the foundation and establish systems capable of delivering sustainable development across the region.
He also called for greater synergy among stakeholders in implementing the 20-year development plan, stressing that the document must become a practical working instrument rather than remain on the shelf.
The Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, disclosed that the ministry was working on a 30-year National Regional Development Policy.
Momoh said there was a clear link between the proposed national policy and the NCDC’s 20-year Great Leap Forward development plan, adding that the synergy would strengthen regional development planning and implementation.
He urged the National Assembly to appropriate adequate funds to enable the Regional Development Commissions execute viable projects.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Hon. Uba Maigari Ahmadu, said the NCDC had continued to demonstrate commitment to its mandate through a collective strategy that involved relevant stakeholders.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the commission had a critical role to play in transforming the North Central through industrialisation, value addition, job creation and improvement in the quality of life of the people.
But Chairman of the Senate Committee on NCDC, Senator Titus Zam, expressed concern over the slow release of funds to the Development Commissions.
Zam said the absence of an integrated regional development platform had impeded progress in the past, adding that the creation of the NCDC was designed to address the challenge.
He called for urgent action to resolve the funding issue to enable the commission “hit the ground running” and effectively deliver on its mandate.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on NCDC, Rt. Hon. Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, commended the commission for convening the summit.
He expressed hope that the outcome would provide a clear direction for implementing projects capable of positively impacting the lives of citizens across the region.
The Chairman of the NCDC Governing Board, Barr. Cosmas Akighir, said the commission convened the summit to hear directly from stakeholders and obtain their input in determining the priorities that should drive development across the region.
Akighir appreciated the support and interest shown by stakeholders, particularly political leaders at the regional and national levels.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC, Dr. Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyil, said the commission’s mandate covered transportation, agriculture, security, entrepreneurship, industrialisation, employment, health, education, housing, water, electricity and telecommunications.
He, however, stressed that having a mandate alone could not transform the region.
According to him, transformation would require vision, political will, private capital, technical competence, institutional cooperation, community participation and the discipline to think and act regionally.
“On behalf of the Governing Board, Management and Staff of the Commission, I make this commitment: we will listen, coordinate, facilitate, partner, mobilise, monitor and remain accountable,” Tsenyil said.
“We will not promise that every problem of this region can be solved overnight, but every opportunity we identify will receive serious attention. We will not pretend the road ahead is easy, but we will insist that it must be travelled,” he added.
In a keynote address, Prof. Iorwuese Hagher said the North Central was endowed with enormous potential which had largely not been converted into opportunities capable of improving the lives of its people.
He described the establishment of the NCDC as timely and necessary, saying the younger generation was demanding concrete answers to the region’s development challenges.
Hagher urged the people and leaders of the North Central to use the NCDC as a vehicle for progress, unity and cohesion by strengthening collaboration among the states and other stakeholders.
The summit subsequently moved into technical sessions where stakeholders commenced discussions on the priorities, strategies and implementation framework for the proposed 20-year development plan for the North Central region.
