Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, infrastructure investments and security initiatives are laying a stronger foundation for accelerated growth and prosperity across the North Central region.
Idris stated this on Monday in Abuja at the first North Central Stakeholders’ Development Summit, organised by the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), with the theme, _“The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region.”_
The Minister said the region’s vast agricultural land, solid minerals, energy resources and strategic location provide significant opportunities for industrialisation, investment and employment.
He cited ongoing federal infrastructure projects, including the Buruku-Logo Bridge and Makurdi-Gboko Road in Benue; the Mararaba-Keffi expansion and Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri Superhighway; the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway; as well as the rehabilitated Gwada-Shiroro Road and approved completion of the 71-kilometre Minna-Suleja Road in Niger State.
“These are not simply roads and bridges; they are economic infrastructure connecting farms to markets, reducing transportation costs and creating opportunities for trade and investment,” Idris said.
He also highlighted the recently commissioned $250 million Diamond New Energy lithium mining and processing facility in Nasarawa State, saying it exemplifies the Tinubu Administration’s policy of moving Nigeria from raw mineral extraction towards processing, industrialisation and value addition.
Idris said the Federal Government is equally expanding agricultural mechanisation, irrigation, financing, storage and processing to position the North Central as a major agricultural and agro-industrial hub.
“For the North Central, Renewed Hope means connecting agriculture to agro-processing, minerals to manufacturing, energy to industry, skills to employment and infrastructure to markets,” he said.
The Minister said that as Nigeria approaches 2027, the Administration’s priority is to translate the gains of difficult economic reforms into increased production, jobs, lower costs, higher incomes and improved living standards.
On security, Idris said President Tinubu is strengthening the Armed Forces and Police through additional recruitment, improved equipment, technology and intelligence, stronger inter-agency coordination and strategic partnerships, alongside the establishment of Forest Guards.
He cited the August rescue of 308 abducted Nigerians in Niger and Kwara States as evidence of improved intelligence-led collaboration among security agencies.
The Minister also backed the establishment of State Police, saying a properly designed system, with strong safeguards for professionalism and accountability, would bring policing closer to communities and complement federal security agencies.
He urged the NCDC to translate the Summit’s 20-year vision into measurable outcomes.
“The ‘Great Leap Forward’ should ultimately be measured not by meetings held or documents produced, but by safer communities, productive farms, better infrastructure, new industries, expanding businesses, jobs for our young people and rising household prosperity,” Idris said.
Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Summit, said the establishment of regional development commissions was designed to accelerate development by addressing regional gaps and unlocking the potential of different parts of the country. He urged the NCDC to pursue well-planned, tangible and transformative projects in infrastructure, transportation, industrialisation, security, human capital, education and health, while leveraging public-private partnerships and development financing.
“Development must be about the people and not on paper. This Summit should not end up as one of those platforms where ideas are ventilated and reports generated only to be left gathering dust on the shelves,” Akume said.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the North Central Development Commission, Dr. Cyril Tsenyil, FCNA, in his opening remarks, said the Summit was intended to mark a turning point in the region’s development by moving the North Central from fragmented state-level efforts towards a coordinated regional economy built around shared infrastructure, investment and prosperity. He said the Commission would focus on identifying constraints, mobilising resources and partnerships, coordinating development efforts and monitoring implementation, with particular emphasis on agriculture and agro-processing, minerals, infrastructure, digital connectivity, SMEs and regional economic corridors.
“The real question is: How do we convert this potential into productive assets, competitive businesses, quality jobs, and measurable improvements in the lives of our people? That is the challenge of this Summit, and this is why the North Central Development Commission exists,” Tsenyil said.
The Summit was attended by the Governor of Nasarawa State, His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Suleiman, CON, FNSE; Deputy Governor of Benue State, Barr. Dr. Samuel Ode, mni, who represented the Governor; Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Salifu Joel Oyibo; Deputy Governor of Niger State, Yakubu Garba; the Honourable Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh; the Honourable Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu; former Military Governor of Kwara and Kano States, AVM Mohammed Ndatsu Umaru (Rtd), FWC, FNSE; and Chairman of the NCDC Governing Board, Barr. Cosmas Akighir, PhD, among other highly placed dignitaries.