Northern governors to raise over N19 billion Security Trust Fund to fight insecurity

From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

The 19 Northern States governors on Monday have agreed to create a regional Security Trust Fund, with each state and its local governments contributing one billion naira (N1 bn) every month, deducted at source, to finance coordinated security operations across the region.

In a packed joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, the leaders said the fund, expected to raise roughly N19 bn each month from the states alone, will be pooled under a framework still to be finalised.

In a Communique issued after the meeting, chairman of the Forum, governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State said, “We are putting our money where our mouth is.

“The money is earmarked for everything from intelligence‑sharing to rapid‑response units, aiming to turn the tide against banditry, kidnappings and the resurgence of Boko Haram”. Yahaya said.

The forum’s chairman, Governor Yahaya, said the trust fund “will be a game‑changer,” and that the leaders are committed to a transparent, peer‑reviewed mechanism to ensure the money is used effectively.

Traditional rulers, who attended in full, pledged to use their moral authority to help curb the politicization of insecurity and to support community‑level peace initiatives.

With the monthly N1 bn contributions set to begin as soon as the operational framework is agreed, northern leaders are hoping the new fund will translate the region’s collective resolve into tangible security gains. As one governor put it, “Our people want results, not just another meeting.”

They praised president Bola  Tinubu’s efforts to secure the release of some of the kidnapped children and reaffirmed support for the president’s push to take the fight to insurgent enclaves.

The Northern leaders urged the National Assembly to fast‑track the constitutional amendment needed for the creation of State Police.

They also called on the federal minister of solid minerals to suspend new mining licences for six months and revalidate existing ones in consultation with governors order to guard against illegal mining.