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It’s another era for the people of North-central region as its leaders, stakeholders brainstorm on how to move the region forward in line with the mandate of the North Central Development Commisdion. Blueprint.ng correspondent writes about its recent summit.
A new development chapter is unfolding in the North-central region as stakeholders have adopted an ambitious 20-year economic, infrastructural and social development blueprint designed to transform the zone into a productive, connected, inclusive and resilient regional economy.
The blueprint, covering 2027 to 2046, emerged from its stakeholders maiden summit organised by the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) in Abuja.
The summit, under the theme, ‘The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region’ brought together policy makers, development experts, political leaders, traditional and community stakeholders, private sector representatives and other actors to chart a new course for the region.
At the heart of the summit was a seven-point communiqué identifying economic development, infrastructure, social development, security, climate/environment, digital economy, sustainable financing and institutional delivery as the critical pillars upon which the region’s transformation must rest.
It was declared open by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume.
Tinubu said the establishment of NCDC and other Regional Development Commissions was driven by the need to close persistent development gaps and accelerate balanced national growth.
The president assured the commission of FG’s political and financial backing, directing that funds accruable to the development commissions be released when due.
He also challenged the commissions to move beyond conventional approaches and focus on projects capable of producing measurable economic and social outcomes.
According to him, the commissions were not created to replace, duplicate or usurp the functions of existing tiers of government, but to identify persistent development gaps and work with relevant stakeholders to close them.
The President described the summit’s consultative approach as significant while urging NCDC to develop interventions that are high-impact, fundable and capable of unlocking the economic and industrial potential of the region.
Rich in resources, poor in conversion
The central paradox confronting the region is that of abundance without commensurate prosperity.
The region comprises Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states, alongside the Federal Capital Territory possesses extensive agricultural land, water resources, mineral deposits, energy potential, human capital and strategic access to major markets.
Yet, as the summit communiqué observed, these assets have not consistently translated into higher productivity, increased incomes, industrial capacity or improved social outcomes.
That gap between potential and prosperity became a recurring theme throughout the summit.
In his keynote address, a former minister and scholar, Senator Iyorwuese Hagher, said the region possessed enormous potential that had remained largely underutilised.
He urged the people and leaders of the North-central to seize the opportunity provided by NCDC to convert the region’s natural and human resources into shared prosperity.
For him, the challenge is no longer simply identifying what the region possesses, but building the institutions, infrastructure and partnerships required to turn those assets into opportunities for millions of people.
From agriculture to value addition
Agriculture occupies a central position in the new development blueprint.
The summit recommended that NCDC develop a GIS-enabled regional economic database and conduct state-by-state mapping of comparative advantages, productive assets, land, farms, water resources, crops, minerals, infrastructure deficits and investment opportunities.
It also called for state-specific agricultural and livestock value chains covering quality inputs, mechanisation, irrigation, farmer capacity development, storage, processing, packaging, branding, logistics and exports.
Rather than concentrating solely on primary production, the plan seeks to push the region towards value addition and industrial processing, thereby creating jobs, increasing incomes and strengthening the competitiveness of its agricultural products.
Priority projects are expected to be sequenced into bankable ‘quick wins’ capable of attracting investment while delivering visible benefits to communities.
Nasarawa state governor and chairman North Central Governors’ Forum, Engr Abdullahi Sule, who was the only governor from the region physically present at the summit, commended the establishment of NCDC as according to him, the commission presented an opportunity to unlock the region’s development potential and transform its abundant raw materials into processed goods that would create greater value for the people.
He pledged the willingness of the North-central governors to support and partner with the commission.
Connecting the six states and FCT
One of the strongest recommendations of the summit was the development of an integrated North-central infrastructure programme linking the six states and the FCT through strategic roads, railways, inland waterways and logistics systems.
The programme is expected to prioritise rehabilitation and completion of transport corridors that can unlock agricultural production, markets and investment.
Among the routes singled out for urgent attention is the Abuja–Lokoja Road, a critical artery linking the Federal Capital Territory with Kogi and connecting the capital to other parts of the country.
The summit also recommended assessing the feasibility of regional rail infrastructure, Baro inland-port logistics, dry-port connections and modern freight systems. The underlying objective is clear to reduce the cost of moving people, goods and agricultural produce while connecting producers to consumers and industries to markets.
Human capital and social inclusion
The 20-year plan also places human development at the centre of regional transformation.
Participants recommended a disaggregated North-central human capital and social inclusion database covering children, young people, women, persons with disabilities, indigent households and rural communities.
The data, they said, should guide needs-based interventions and provide a basis for measuring outcomes.
In education, the summit called for a safe and inclusive framework aimed at reducing school dropout, addressing teacher shortages, improving affordability and learning quality, and expanding access to learning materials and facilities, including for persons with disabilities.
The message from the summit was that infrastructure and economic growth must translate into improvements in the everyday lives of citizens.
Security as a development imperative
Security also featured prominently in the development blueprint.
The summit recognised insecurity as a major impediment to development in the zone and proposed a coordinated regional security and peace-building framework. The framework is expected to support statutory security agencies through timely intelligence sharing, community engagement, early-warning mechanisms and stronger inter-state coordination.
For a region where agriculture, commerce and rural livelihoods are closely tied with access to land and communities, participants argued that sustainable development would remain difficult without a corresponding improvement in security.
Climate, floods and environmental pressures
The region’s environmental vulnerabilities were equally recognised. The summit proposed a North Central Climate and Disaster Resilience Programme, beginning with geo-referenced mapping of flood, erosion, drought, mining and other environmental hazards.
The proposed programme would incorporate community risk profiles, early-warning systems and evacuation protocols.
It would also prioritise interventions on flooding and erosion, including desilting, drainage clearing, protection of waterways, erosion control and a review of dam and reservoir solutions.
Participants further called for stronger enforcement against unsafe developments along flood corridors.
A digital North-central
The blueprint also seeks to take the region into the digital economy as the NCDC was urged to develop an inclusive regional digital infrastructure programme capable of expanding broadband connectivity and affordable digital access across the six states, the FCT, local government areas, wards and underserved rural communities.
The summit also recommended the establishment of AI, digital-skills and teacher-training centres across the mandate states.
The plan proposes beginning with functional computer-enabled facilities in primary schools and progressively expanding access to technology-supported education.
The question of finance
Perhaps, one of the most important questions arising from the summit is how the ambitious 20-year blueprint would be financed.
Participants acknowledged that public funding alone would not be sufficient to deliver the region’s development ambitions.
They therefore recommended that financing instruments should be matched with the economic characteristics and public value of individual projects.
Commercially viable projects, according to the communiqué, should attract private investment, while projects with strong economic benefits but weaker initial returns should utilise blended finance.
Essential non-commercial public services, on the other hand, would require appropriate government funding.
The minister of regional development, Engr Abubakar Momoh appealed to the National Assembly to appropriate adequate funds to enable the Regional Development Commissions execute viable projects.
He said the ministry was also working on a 30-year National Regional Development Policy, which he said would complement NCDC’s 20-year development plan.
Building partnerships
Beyond government funding, the NCDC has already begun seeking strategic partnerships. During the summit, the commission signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The agreements followed months of engagements and visits by NCDC to the two agencies aimed at leveraging their expertise, institutional structures and experience to unlock the agricultural and entrepreneurial potential of the region.
NCDC managing director Dr Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyil said the commission’s mandate covers transportation, agriculture, security, entrepreneurship, industrialisation, employment, health, education, housing, water, electricity and telecommunications.
He however acknowledged that a mandate alone could not transform a region; therefore identified vision, political will, private capital, technical competence, institutional cooperation, community participation and the discipline to think regionally as necessary ingredients for success.
“We will listen, coordinate, facilitate, partner, mobilise, monitor and remain accountable,” Tsenyil said, stressing that the commission would not promise overnight solutions but would give serious attention to opportunities identified across the region.
Beyond another development document
The summit’s most important test may now begin after the speeches and resolutions.
For years, Nigeria has produced development plans that struggled to survive changes in political leadership, funding constraints and institutional weaknesses.
Aware of this challenge, the summit called for the 20-year plan to receive formal legal and institutional backing, aligned state action and governance arrangements capable of sustaining implementation beyond electoral cycles.
NCDC’s Governing Board chairman, Barrister Cosmas Akighir said the commission convened the summit to listen directly to stakeholders and obtain their input in determining the priorities that should drive development across the region.
The chairman Senate Committee on NCDC, Senator Titus Zam also stressed the need to address delays in the release of funds to development commissions, arguing that timely funding was essential for them to effectively discharge their mandates.
His counterpart in the House of Representatives Rt Hon Raheem Tunji Olawuyi expressed hope that the summit’s outcome would provide a clear direction for implementing projects capable of positively affecting citizens.
The challenge, therefore, extends beyond producing another ambitious document. It is about translating the document into roads that are built, farms that become productive businesses, minerals that are processed locally, industries that employ young people, schools that produce skilled citizens, communities that become safer and digital networks that connect rural populations to opportunities.
That is the real meaning of the Great Leap Forward.
For the North-central, the 2027–2046 blueprint represents an attempt to replace fragmented interventions with a coordinated regional development strategy.
Its success would ultimately depend on whether the political commitment, financing, partnerships and institutional discipline promised at the Abuja summit can be sustained long enough to turn the region’s enormous potential into measurable prosperity.
