The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says the Federal Government’s economic reforms, infrastructure investments and security initiatives are positioning the North Central for accelerated development.
Idris stated this on Monday in Abuja at the first North Central Stakeholders’ Development Summit organised by the North Central Development Commission (NCDC).
The summit has 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 agricultural land, solid minerals, energy resources and strategic location provided opportunities for industrialisation, investment and job creation.
He listed ongoing and approved infrastructure projects in the region, including the Buruku-Logo Bridge and Makurdi-Gboko Road in Benue, Mararaba-Keffi expansion and the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri Superhighway.
Others are the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway, Gwada-Shiroro Road and the 71-km Minna-Suleja Road in Niger.
“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 cited the recently commissioned 250 million dollar Diamond New Energy lithium mining and processing facility in Nasarawa as part of efforts to promote mineral processing and value addition.
Idris said the government was expanding agricultural mechanisation, irrigation, financing, storage and processing to make the North Central 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 the government’s priority ahead of 2027 was to translate the gains of its economic reforms into increased production, job creation, lower costs, higher incomes and improved living standards.
On security, he said the administration was strengthening the Armed Forces and Police through recruitment, improved equipment, technology, intelligence and inter-agency coordination.
Idris cited the August rescue of 308 abducted Nigerians in Niger and Kwara as evidence of improved intelligence-led security collaboration.
He also supported the establishment of State Police, saying it would bring policing closer to communities if properly designed with safeguards for professionalism and accountability.
Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu, urged the NCDC to focus on tangible projects in infrastructure, transportation, industrialisation, security, education, health and human capital development.
“Development must be about the people and not on paper,” Akume said.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NCDC, Cyril Tsenyil, said the summit was aimed at moving the North Central from fragmented state-level efforts to a coordinated regional economy.
He said the commission would prioritise agriculture and agro-processing, minerals, infrastructure, digital connectivity, small and medium-sized enterprises and regional economic corridors.
