Tinubu Directs Release of Funds to Regional Development Commissions

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to ensure the timely release of all funds approved for the regional development 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,” Tinubu said.

 

The President, however, urged the commissions not to rely solely on government funding, advising them to explore public-private partnerships, donor funding and development financing for transformative projects.

 

He said the commissions should focus on major projects in rail, air transportation, industrialisation, security, investment, human capital development, education and health.

 

Tinubu also warned the boards and management of the commissions against corruption, marginalisation, politicisation and misuse of government resources.

 

“Such actions will not be tolerated, and government will not hesitate to sanction anyone found culpable,” he said.

 

The President stressed that the regional commissions were not established to replace or duplicate the functions of state and local governments or existing federal institutions.

 

He added that the North Central Development Commission should support efforts to address security challenges in the region, noting that development could only take place in a stable environment.

 

Meanwhile, 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 called for a shift from the extraction of raw materials to processing and value addition, stressing that minerals mined in the region should also be processed there.

 

“When you are mining in North Central, you must also process in North Central,” he said.

 

The governor cited the establishment of a cement factory in Kogi State as an example of how local processing could transform the economy.

 

Sule said Nasarawa State, which had more than 400 steel licences when he assumed office in 2019, previously had no processing plant despite its mineral resources.

 

He said the state had since become home to the country’s largest and second-largest lithium processing plants.

 

“The North Central is the home of Benue cement. The North Central is the home of rice production. The North Central is the home of sesame production. So we have it all. Whatever it is that we are looking for, we have it,” Sule said.

 

He said the region needed leadership capable of developing and implementing long-term plans.

 

“What do we need more? We need thinkers. We need implementers. We need people who understand what it means to lead,” he said.

 

Sule also commended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, saying the policies had increased revenues available to the federal, state and local governments.

 

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the North Central Development Commission, Cyril Tsenyil, said the commission’s role was to coordinate regional development and mobilise resources and partnerships rather than replace the six state governments and the Federal Capital Territory.

 

He said the commission’s 20-year plan would focus on developing regional economic corridors, processing agricultural and mineral resources, improving infrastructure and creating opportunities for young people.