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Katsina State Governor and Chairman of the Northwest Governors’ Forum, Malam Umaru Dikko Radda, has called for increased private-sector investment and stronger regional cooperation to tackle insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment in Nigeria’s Northwest.
Radda made the call during high-level engagements on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula, after the governor’s engagements, Radda said the region could not achieve sustainable peace through military operations alone, stressing the need to combine security with economic opportunities and development.
The governor also highlighted the need to attract more private capital into development projects across the region, saying the challenge was increasingly about creating the right conditions for investors rather than a lack of financing options.
Speaking at the inaugural ASIS Global Action Forum, convened by the Sterling One Foundation in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), RALLY Africa and other organisations, Radda said Katsina State had demonstrated the potential of development financing partnerships.
According to him, the state had benefited from 11 World Bank-funded projects valued at about $430 million, covering education, water, agriculture, rural roads and environmental development.
He added that the African Development Bank was financing Katsina’s Agro-Industrial Processing Zone with $30 million, while the Islamic Development Bank was providing $60 million for the first phase of the state’s Integrated Agricultural Development Hubs.
Radda identified stronger public-private partnership frameworks, de-risking mechanisms, reliable counterpart funding and transparent monitoring as critical measures for attracting private investment into development projects.
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At another high-level engagement on the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework, the governor urged the seven states in the region to strengthen cooperation in addressing insecurity, poverty, displacement and economic challenges.
“Security must be accompanied by opportunity,” he said, maintaining that sustainable peace would require more than military intervention.
He called for increased investment in agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, skills development and enterprise, urging investors and development partners to look beyond the region’s security challenges and consider its economic potential.
The governor said the Northwest governors were committed to moving from the development of common plans to practical implementation that would improve livelihoods and strengthen stability across the region.
The statement said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, commended the governors for presenting a common regional development plan and pledged the support of the UN.
Mohammed reportedly highlighted the Northwest’s strategic importance to food production and called for coordinated financing, stronger institutions, job creation and community-focused investments.
She disclosed that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was developing a proposal for a Northwest-led Stabilisation-to-Transformation Programme and Financing Platform.
