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

Tinubu issued 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 establishment of the 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, urged the commissions not to depend solely on government funding, directing them to explore public-private partnerships, donor support and development financing to fund transformative projects.

He said the commissions should prioritise major projects in rail transportation, aviation, industrialisation, security, investment, human capital development, education and healthcare.

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

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

He stressed that the regional commissions were not created to replace or duplicate the responsibilities of state and local governments or existing Federal Government institutions.

He said the North Central Development Commission should support efforts to tackle the region’s security challenges, stressing that sustainable development could only thrive in a stable environment.

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

Sule said the region had shown strong potential in agriculture, mining and industrial production, stressing the need to shift 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 had more than 400 steel licences when he assumed office in 2019 but lacked a single processing plant despite its abundant mineral resources.

He said the state had since attracted 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.