The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has announced the establishment of the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Council (NNEDC) — a new regional body designed to coordinate policies, attract investments, and accelerate industrialisation across the 19 northern states.
The announcement came after the successful conclusion of the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialization Summit (NNIIS) held in Abuja, where participants pledged over $10bn in new investments covering mining, agriculture, and power.
In a communiqué signed by Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Chairman of the NEF Board of Trustees, the Forum said the NNEDC “would serve as the institutional framework for implementing the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Masterplan (NNEDM).”
The masterplan, it explained, rests on three key pillars — “security, policy coherence, and private capital mobilisation.”
Governors sign regional economic charter
The two-day summit, themed “Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture, and Power (MAP 2025),” brought together federal and state officials, northern governors, the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), private investors, development partners, financiers, academics, and civil society groups.
According to the communiqué, exhibitions by the 19 northern states’ investment agencies and deal room sessions (B2B, B2G) led to investment commitments of over $10 billion for the next five years.
Delegations from Turkey, India, Canada, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia also attended, expressing “strong interest in investing in the region’s growth sectors.”
The NEF commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support and pledged “accountability and transparency in implementing the summit’s outcomes.”
Itadded that governors from the North West, North East, and North Central regions had signed the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Charter, committing their states to a “unified regional economic vision.”
NEF, governors to oversee new council
The communiqué stated that the NNEDC will function “under the joint oversight of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NNGF).”
It also announced the formation of a Joint Implementation and Monitoring Taskforce (JIMT) to “manage transitional activities and publish an operational roadmap within 60 days.”
The council is expected to issue quarterly scorecards tracking progress in “job creation, energy expansion, and investment inflows.”
‘A decisive pivot from rhetoric to execution’ — Sheni
NEF Director-General, Prof. D.D. Sheni, described the new initiative as “a decisive pivot from rhetoric to execution in Northern Nigeria’s economic journey.”
“With security as the bedrock, policy coherence as the framework, and private capital as the engine, Northern Nigeria can transform its endowments into sustainable growth,” he said.
The Forum reaffirmed its “commitment to transparency, accountability, and inclusive prosperity,” pledging to lead the region “into a new era of coordinated economic transformation.”
