NCDC Summit Adopts Roadmap For North Central Transformation, Signs MoUs With NIRSAL, SMEDAN

The maiden North Central Stakeholders Development Summit has ended in Abuja with the adoption of a seven-point communiqué outlining key priority areas for the North Central Development Commission, NCDC, to fast-track the transformation of the region.

The communiqué, read by the Executive Director, Finance and Chairman of the Technical Committee, Prof. Muhammad Bashar Nuhu, was adopted after two days of intensive deliberations on the theme: “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region.”

The Summit observed that the North Central region is endowed with extensive agricultural land, water, mineral and energy resources, human capital, large markets and a strategic geographical location, but these assets have yet to translate into commensurate productivity, incomes, industrial capacity and improved social outcomes.

Participants therefore identified seven critical pillars for long-term transformation: Economic Development, Infrastructure, Social Development, Security, Climate and Environment, Digital Economy, and Sustainable Financing and Institutional Delivery.

1. Economic Development: The Summit recommended that NCDC develop a GIS-enabled regional economic database and undertake state-by-state mapping of comparative advantages, productive assets, land, farms, water, crops, minerals, infrastructure gaps and investment opportunities.

It also called for development of state-specific agricultural and livestock value chains covering quality inputs, mechanisation, irrigation, farmer capacity, storage, processing, packaging, branding, logistics and exports, with priority projects sequenced into bankable quick wins.

2. Infrastructure: Participants recommended an integrated North Central infrastructure programme linking the six states and the Federal Capital Territory through strategic roads, rail, inland waterways and logistics systems.

The programme should prioritise rehabilitation and completion of corridors that unlock agricultural production and markets, with urgent consideration for high-impact routes such as the Abuja–Lokoja Road. It also recommended assessing the phased feasibility of regional rail, Baro inland-port logistics, dry-port connections and modern freight systems.

3. Social Development: The Summit called for a disaggregated human-capital and social-inclusion data system covering children, youth, women, persons with disabilities, indigent households and rural communities to guide needs-based interventions.

It further recommended a safe and inclusive education framework to reduce school dropout, strengthen existing schools, address teacher shortages, improve affordability and learning quality, and provide accessible facilities for persons with disabilities.

4. Security: Recognising security as a major impediment to development, participants recommended a coordinated regional security and peacebuilding framework to support statutory security institutions through timely intelligence sharing, community engagement, early warning and inter-state coordination.

It also advocated the lawful deployment of satellite imagery, drones, geospatial systems and other technology-enabled intelligence tools, backed by clear safeguards and operational response protocols.

5. Climate and Environment: Participants proposed a North Central Climate and Disaster Resilience Programme, beginning with geo-referenced mapping of flood, erosion, drought and mining hazards, including community risk profiles and early-warning systems.

Priority interventions should focus on desilting, drainage clearing, protection of waterways, erosion control and review of dam solutions, as well as stricter enforcement against unsafe development along flood corridors.

6. Digital Economy: The Summit urged NCDC to develop an inclusive regional digital infrastructure programme to expand broadband connectivity across the six states, FCT, local governments and underserved rural communities.

It also recommended establishing AI, digital-skills and teacher-training centres, starting with functional computer-enabled facilities in primary schools and progressively expanding technology-supported education.

7. Financing and Institutional Delivery: The Summit noted that public funding alone cannot deliver the region’s ambitions. It therefore recommended matching financing instruments to project economics — commercial projects to attract private investment, projects with strong economic benefits but weak initial returns to utilise blended finance, and essential non-commercial services to receive public funding.

To ensure sustainability, participants called on NCDC to give the 20-Year Plan formal legal and institutional backing through adoption, aligned state action and governance arrangements that outlive electoral cycles.

It also recommended establishing a Programme Management Office within NCDC to coordinate flagship programmes, project preparation, financing, implementation support and performance reporting, with clearly defined responsibilities among all stakeholders.

Earlier at the Summit, NCDC 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, which followed months of engagements, are aimed at leveraging the agencies’ expertise to unlock the agricultural potential of the North Central region — widely regarded as Nigeria’s food basket — while strengthening entrepreneurship and enterprise development.

Speaking at the signing, NCDC Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyil, NIRSAL Executive Director, Ewaen Imohe, and SMEDAN Director General, Charles Odii, pledged to collaborate to make the region more economically productive and viable.

Chairman of the NCDC Governing Board, Barr. Cosmas Akighir, and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Regional Development, Dr. Mary Ogbe, expressed support for the partnerships and pledged appropriate oversight.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Tsenyil thanked participants for their patriotic contributions, noting that their inputs would shape the performance and legacy of the Commission.

Chairman of the Central Steering Committee, Alh. Suleiman Baba Ali, commended the impressive turnout and thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, special guests and stakeholders for their contributions to the success of the Summit.