By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA — The North Central Development Commission (NCDC) has declared that the region cannot achieve meaningful development without treating security as part of its core infrastructure.
The warning came as stakeholders unveiled a 20-year development blueprint designed to turn the region’s agricultural land, mineral resources, strategic location and human capital into jobs, investment and better living standards.
Prof. Mohammed Nuhu presented the communique adopted at the end of the NCDC Road Map and Stakeholders’ Development Summit in Abuja, where 862 participants attended physically and 49 online to consider the draft North Central 20-Year Development Plan, 2027-2046.
“Security is productive infrastructure: agriculture, trade, investment, education and community life cannot thrive where people, assets and transport corridors remain unsafe,” the communique stated.
The summit therefore called for a regional security and peacebuilding framework built around intelligence sharing, community engagement, early warning systems and stronger coordination among the states.
It also recommended the responsible use of satellite imagery, drones and geospatial intelligence, while urging that security considerations be built into the planning of farms, schools, markets, transport corridors and major infrastructure projects.
Keynote speaker, Sen. Amb. Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher, said the region must turn its strategic location, diversity, natural resources and human capital into shared prosperity.
He called for greater value addition, human-capital development, technology, regional unity and disciplined implementation of the long-term plan.
Governor Abdullahi A. Sule of Nasarawa State, who chairs the North Central Governors’ Forum, presented the draft plan and stressed the need to move beyond extracting the region’s resources to processing them locally.
Sule said the region’s leaders must translate the blueprint into measurable results, particularly by unlocking its agricultural and mineral potential.
The economic agenda includes state-specific agricultural and livestock value chains covering mechanisation, irrigation, storage, processing, packaging, branding, logistics and export.
The summit also called for the formalisation of artisanal mining and the creation of mineral-processing and manufacturing clusters, with the aim of retaining more value, employment and revenue within the region.
On infrastructure, stakeholders proposed an integrated network of roads, rail, inland waterways and logistics systems linking Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states with the Federal Capital Territory.
The Abuja-Lokoja Road was identified for urgent consideration, alongside feasibility assessments for regional rail, Baro inland-port logistics, dry ports and modern freight systems.
The plan also places digital connectivity alongside physical infrastructure, proposing wider broadband coverage across the six states and the FCT, including local government areas, wards and rural communities.
It recommends AI and digital-skills centres, teacher training, computer facilities in primary schools and programmes linking digital training directly to employment and emerging industries, with Abuja positioned as a regional digital and commercial hub.
On education and health, the summit called for measures to reduce school dropout, address teacher shortages and expand STEM, technical and vocational education.
It also proposed stronger teaching hospitals, wider health-insurance coverage for vulnerable residents, better access to essential medicines and interventions addressing mental health and substance abuse.
Women, young people and persons with disabilities are to receive targeted support through skills development, grants or affordable finance, market access and enterprise development.
Climate and environmental risks also featured in the plan, with stakeholders calling for the mapping of flood, erosion, drought and mining hazards and the development of early-warning systems.
The recommendations include flood-control measures, drainage and waterway interventions, erosion control and recovery programmes for communities displaced by climate-related events.
But stakeholders warned against allowing the 20-year blueprint to become another collection of projects without measurable results.
“The Plan must avoid becoming a catalogue of disconnected projects,” the communique warned, urging concentration on catalytic regional programmes with clear baselines, accountable owners, viable financing, measurable outcomes and maintenance arrangements.
To guard against implementation failures, the summit proposed durable legal and institutional backing for the plan beyond electoral cycles.
It also recommended a Programme Management Office within the NCDC to coordinate flagship programmes, financing, risk management and performance reporting.
On funding, the summit proposed a mix of public resources, private investment, development finance, public-private partnerships, capital markets, climate finance and diaspora capital, with financing instruments matched to the economics of individual projects.
The National Assembly committees on the NCDC affirmed legislative support, budgetary provision and oversight, stressing that the plan must translate into visible infrastructure, jobs, functional public services and improved livelihoods.
The Minister of State for Regional Development said the summit’s outcomes would contribute to the emerging national regional development framework and strengthen collaboration among stakeholders.
The communique was adopted by participants after being presented by Prof. Nuhu.
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