President Bola Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to ensure the release of all funds approved for the regional commissions.

Tinubu gave the directive on Monday at the North Central Development Commission Summit, themed “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic Infrastructure and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region.”

Akume, who represented the President at the summit, said the creation of regional development commissions was part of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to accelerate development across the country.

“Government will continue to give the NCDC and other Regional Development Commissions the political and financial backing to embark on key projects that will unlock the economic and industrial potentials of the nation.

“I therefore direct the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to ensure that all funds accruable to the Commissions are released as and when due,” he said.

The President, however, said the commissions should not rely solely on government funding, urging them to explore public-private partnerships, donor funding and development financing for transformative projects.

He said the commissions were expected to focus on major projects in rail, air transportation, industrialisation, security, investment, human capital development, education and health.

Tinubu also warned the boards and management of the commissions against corruption, marginalisation, politicisation and misuse of government resources.

“Such actions will not be tolerated, and government will not hesitate to sanction anyone found culpable,” he said.

The President said the regional commissions were not established to replace or duplicate the functions of state and local governments or existing federal institutions.

He said the North Central Development Commission should support efforts to address the security challenges in the region, stressing that development could only take place in a stable environment.

Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Governor and Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum, Abdullahi Sule, said the region possessed the human and natural resources needed to drive economic development.

Sule said the region had demonstrated its capacity in agriculture, mining and industrial production, stressing the need to move from the extraction of raw materials to processing and value addition.

“When you are mining in North Central, you must also process in North Central,” the governor said.

He cited the establishment of a cement factory in Kogi State as an example of how local processing could transform Nigeria’s economy.

The governor said Nasarawa State, which had more than 400 steel licences when he assumed office in 2019, previously had no processing plant despite its mineral resources.

He said the state had since become home to the country’s largest and second-largest lithium processing plants.

“The North Central is the home of Benue cement. The North Central is the home of rice production. The North Central is the home of sesame production. So we have it all. Whatever it is that we are looking for, we have it,” Sule said.

He said what the region needed was leadership capable of developing and implementing long-term plans.

“What do we need more? We need thinkers. We need implementers. We need people who understand what it means to lead,” he said.

Sule also commended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, saying the policies had increased revenues available to the federal, state and local governments.

“Today, we are paying salaries without borrowing money from the bank. Even if you hate him, you cannot hate his policies. Even if you disagree with him, you cannot disagree with his policies. And that is the only way we can build,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the North Central Development Commission, Cyril Tsenyil said the commission’s role was to coordinate regional development and mobilise resources and partnerships rather than replace the six state governments and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the commission’s 20-year plan would focus on developing regional economic corridors, processing agricultural and mineral resources, improving infrastructure and creating opportunities for young people.

He said the region should aspire to become one of Africa’s most competitive agricultural regions rather than merely being known as Nigeria’s agricultural hub.