President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned that the era of white-elephant projects and wasteful spending of public funds must end, saying officials found guilty of corruption in the management of the newly established Regional Development Commissions will face sanctions.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, gave the warning on Monday at the first North Central Stakeholders Development Summit in Abuja.
The President also directed the SGF’s office to ensure the timely release of funds due to the commissions, while urging them to attract private capital rather than rely solely on government funding.
The warning came as the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) unveiled a 20-year development plan designed to transform the region’s agricultural, mineral, infrastructure and human-capital potential into productive assets, investments, jobs and shared prosperity.
Delivering the President’s remarks, Akume said the Regional Development Commissions were created under the Renewed Hope Agenda to address longstanding development gaps across the country and were not intended to replace, duplicate or take over the responsibilities of existing levels of government.
“The era of white elephant projects is over and there is no excuse for the Commissions to become another conduit pipe for wasting public funds,” Tinubu said.
He said the commissions must prioritise projects that can unlock the economic potential of their respective regions while improving connectivity across the country.
According to him, key areas of focus should include roads, rail and air transportation, industrialisation, security, investment, education, healthcare and human-capital development.
Tinubu urged the commissions to operate with clear, concise, achievable and adequately funded programmes, stressing that the ultimate purpose of development should be improving people’s lives rather than simply producing plans and documents.
Sanctions await corrupt officials
The President cautioned the boards and management teams of the commissions against corruption, marginalisation, politicisation and ethnic considerations in the execution of government responsibilities.
“Such actions will not be tolerated and government will not hesitate to sanction anyone found culpable,” he said.
Tinubu said the North Central possesses significant potential in agriculture, food production and agro-processing, solid minerals, industrial development, peace and security, but had remained below its capacity for too long.
He asked stakeholders to carefully review the 20-year development plan to ensure that it reflects the aspirations of residents and remains consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“This Summit should not end up as one of those platforms where ideas are ventilated and reports generated only to be left dusting in the shelves. The NCDC should show a better example by following through to implementation,” he said.
Beyond government allocations, Tinubu encouraged the commissions to pursue Public-Private Partnerships, donor support and development financing in accordance with their establishing laws and existing government guidelines.
He also instructed the SGF to ensure that funds accruing to the Regional Development Commissions are released when due.
The President said the establishment of development commissions across the regions was intended to speed up national development and ensure that no part of the country was left behind.
While declaring the summit open, Tinubu called on stakeholders to ensure that the discussions produced practical outcomes that would provide a strong foundation for the North Central region over the next 20 years.
Investors see markets, not state boundaries — NCDC
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC, Dr Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyil, said the North Central must move away from focusing mainly on individual state projects and instead operate as an integrated regional economy.
“Investors do not see the boundary between Benue and Nasarawa, or between Kogi and Niger, the way governments do. They see markets, supply chains, corridors, resources and labour pools,” Tsenyil said.
He said agricultural production in the region should supply processing industries, while minerals should serve as industrial inputs and roads, railways, waterways and dry ports should operate as connected economic corridors rather than separate projects.
Under the draft 20-year plan, the NCDC said it aims to position the North Central as one of Africa’s most competitive agro-industrial regions.
It said the agricultural sector would be expanded beyond primary production to include storage, processing, logistics, finance, commodity markets and export-focused value chains.
The commission also said the region’s mineral resources should generate more value through responsible mining, formalisation of artisanal mining activities and local processing.
It disclosed that discussions had commenced with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, including on the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle for the sector.
Tsenyil said infrastructure development would be structured around regional economic corridors.
He disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission on a regional railway network, the revival of Ajaokuta Steel, dredging of the Rivers Benue and Niger, Baro Port and the Jos Dry Inland Port.
The commission said development would also be measured by its impact on communities and young people living around major economic corridors, stressing that social inclusion would be essential to achieving sustainable development.
The NCDC said investment-ready opportunities from states across the region and the Federal Capital Territory would be taken into structured “Deal Rooms” and categorised according to their level of readiness, including projects ready for investment, projects requiring further structuring and those still at the conceptual stage.
It said investors would need reliable data, feasibility studies, land information, revenue models, clear risk allocation and assurance that projects would remain viable despite changes in government.
Potential funding sources identified by the commission include federal and state resources, development finance, commercial capital, domestic and foreign private investment, PPPs, concessions, grants and blended financing.
“Our philosophy is that every naira of public money should be deployed to unlock a far larger pool of private capital,” Tsenyil said, explaining the thinking behind the commission’s Board-approved Investment Company.
The commission called on investors to provide capital, technology, management expertise and access to markets, while urging state governments and the FCT to submit projects supported by land, data, approvals, sponsors and political commitment.
It said success would ultimately be measured not by the number of meetings held or memoranda signed, but by jobs created, private capital attracted, strategic infrastructure delivered and increased value from agricultural and mineral production.
The NCDC said its broader objective was to move the region from potential to productivity, raw materials to value addition, isolated projects to regional corridors, ideas to bankable projects and government spending to investment mobilisation.
Tsenyil pledged that the commission would coordinate, facilitate, partner, mobilise and monitor the implementation of the long-term development agenda while remaining accountable.
20-year plan must outlive administrations — Minister
The Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, said the 20-year plan provides the North Central with an opportunity to establish a common development vision that can survive changes in government.
Momoh linked the regional plan to the proposed National Regional Development Policy (NRDP), 2026–2030, being developed by his ministry, saying the policy would provide a broader framework for coordinating regional development.
He said the North Central plan should go beyond being a list of projects and instead serve as a transformation framework for guiding public investment, private capital and development partnerships over the long term.
The minister identified integrated regional planning, comparative advantage, infrastructure connectivity, social inclusion, human-capital development, peace and security, and institutional coordination as important principles for the plan.
He said the region should increasingly be developed as an interconnected economic space, with infrastructure supporting agricultural value chains, industrial clusters, markets and economic corridors.
Momoh said the region’s young population must be equipped with skills needed for future industries, including agriculture and agro-processing, technology, renewable energy, manufacturing, mining services, construction, logistics and the digital economy.
“Human capital development must therefore be treated not merely as social expenditure, but as economic infrastructure,” he said.
On security, the minister said sustainable development could not take place without peace, noting that communal conflicts, displacement and insecurity had disrupted agriculture, investment, education and livelihoods in parts of the region.
He said development could itself serve as a tool for peace by creating jobs, economic opportunities and tangible benefits for communities.
Momoh said the 20-year plan should include measurable milestones for five, 10, 15 and 20 years, with its progress assessed based on development outcomes rather than the amount of money spent or the number of projects started.
Source: The article provided
