President Bola Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to ensure the release of all funds approved for the regional commissions.
Tinubu gave the directive on Monday at the North Central Development Commission Summit, themed “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic Infrastructure and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region.”
Akume, who represented the president at the summit, said the creation of regional development commissions was part of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to accelerate development across the country.
“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,” he said.
The president, however, said the commissions should not rely solely on government funding, urging them to explore public-private partnerships, donor funding, and development financing for transformative projects.
He said the commissions were expected to focus on major projects in rail, air transportation, industrialization, security, investment, human capital development, education, and health.
Tinubu also warned the boards and management of the commissions against corruption, marginalization, politicization, and misuse of government resources.
“Such actions will not be tolerated, and the government will not hesitate to sanction anyone found culpable,” he said.
The president said the regional commissions were not established to replace or duplicate the functions of state and local governments or existing federal institutions.
He said the North Central Development Commission should support efforts to address the security challenges in the region, stressing that development could only take place in a stable environment.
Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Governor and Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum, Abdullahi Sule, said the region possessed the human and natural resources needed to drive economic development.
Sule said the region had demonstrated its capacity in agriculture, mining, and industrial production, stressing the need to move from the extraction of raw materials to processing and value addition.
“When you are mining in North Central, you must also process in North Central,” the governor said.
