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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to ensure that all approved funds accruing to Nigeria’s regional development commissions are released as and when due.
Tinubu gave the directive on Monday, September 14, 2026, at the maiden North Central Stakeholders’ Development Summit in Abuja, where Akume represented him. The summit is focused on developing a 20-year economic, infrastructural and social development plan for the North-Central region.
The President said adequate and timely funding was necessary to enable the commissions to undertake strategic projects capable of unlocking the economic and industrial potential of their respective regions.
Tinubu said the creation of regional development commissions formed part of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, designed to address longstanding development gaps and promote more coordinated growth across Nigeria.
But the President’s directive came with a warning.
Tinubu cautioned the boards and management of the commissions against corruption, marginalisation, politicisation and misuse of public resources, stressing that the government would sanction officials found culpable. He also warned against “white elephant” projects and said the commissions must not become channels for wasting public funds.
The President further instructed the commissions not to depend exclusively on federal allocations. He urged them to explore public-private partnerships, donor funding and development financing to mobilise additional resources for transformative projects.
Priority areas identified by the administration include roads, railways, air transportation, industrialisation, security, investment, human capital development, education and healthcare.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Regional Development currently oversees the Niger Delta, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West, North-Central and South-South Development Commissions, according to the ministry.
Tinubu stressed that the commissions were not created to replace state and local governments or duplicate the responsibilities of existing federal institutions. Instead, they are expected to complement existing structures by addressing development challenges that cut across state boundaries.
For the North-Central region specifically, security is expected to be a major component of the development strategy. Tinubu argued that sustainable development would be difficult without stability and urged the NCDC to support broader efforts to confront insecurity in the region.
Nasarawa State Governor and Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum, Abdullahi Sule, meanwhile, argued that the region possesses enormous potential in agriculture, mining and industrial production. He called for a shift from simply extracting raw materials to processing and adding value within the region.
The bigger issue, however, will be implementation. Nigeria has established development institutions and announced ambitious intervention programmes before; citizens will ultimately judge the new commissions by the roads, jobs, industries, schools, healthcare facilities and other measurable improvements they deliver.
The critical question is: Will the release of billions of naira to regional development commissions finally translate into visible development at the grassroots — or create another layer of expensive government bureaucracy?
