Northern Nigeria is set for a major economic renewal following the decision by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) to create the Northern Nigeria Development Council (NNDC), a new body to drive regional transformation.
The agreement, sealed through the signing of the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Charter, came at the close of the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit in Abuja on Monday, October 6.
In a communiqué, NEF Convener Prof. Ango Abdullahi said the NNDC would function under both forums to implement the region’s long-term development plan.
“The charter signed by the Northern Governors commits them to establish the NNDC as the dedicated coordinating agency for the region’s economic agenda,” the document stated.
The NNDC will serve as the institutional body to steer regional integration across mining, agriculture, power, industrialisation, and technology.
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The summit, themed “Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture, and Power,” brought together governors, investors, and development partners who pledged over $10 billion in investments across key sectors within five years.
Participants also emphasised improving infrastructure, reforming land administration, simplifying business processes, and creating clear policies to attract private investment.
They further proposed a Security-Investment Coordination Task Force to safeguard critical projects.
The communiqué noted that the initiative drew inspiration from the North’s industrial past of the 1960s and 1970s, when agriculture and agro-processing powered its economy.
The new council, it added, seeks to revive that legacy through modern, coordinated, and sustainable development.