The North-Central Development Agenda (N-CDA) has expressed strong support for President Bola Tinubu and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the group Coordinator, Ademu Musa Adams, praised President Tinubu’s economic reforms, despite their initial challenges, and commended his decision to appoint Senator Akume as SGF, describing it as well-deserved.
Acknowledging the partnership between Tinubu and Akume, the group emphasized their confidence in their commitment to democracy, good governance, and regional development. They also urged state governors to judiciously use post-subsidy removal funds provided by the federal government to ease economic hardships for Nigerians.
The group also noted Sen. Akume’s efforts in the current struggle to create the North Central Development Commission
Additionally, the N-CDA called for the creation of a North-Central Development Commission to ensure equity with other geopolitical regions and to harness the region’s potential for national development.
The group noted the region’s peaceful nature and strategic role in the federation, advocating for measures to consolidate its position and improve the welfare of its people.
“We are identified as the North-Central Development Agenda. We are a voluntary association made up of like-minded individuals drawn from the North-Central Geopolitical Region working to champion the collective interests of the peoples of the region.
“We seek the development of the region towards addressing imbalances in wealth creation opportunities as exist therein, as compared to other regions in the country, and our cardinal objective remains at all times the improvement in the quality of life available to every man, woman and child in the region.
“We use this opportunity to extend our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, for graciously appointing our Leader, Senator Akume to the exalted position of the Number 3 official in the Executive Arm of the Federal Government of the country.
“Our faith in the working partnership between President Tinubu and our Leader Senator Akume is strengthened by the known fact that they were not just brother governors from 1999 to 2007, President Tinubu in Lagos and SGF Akume in Benue, but they were closely allied even then as defenders of democracy and upholders of the tenets which nourish and sustain it worldwide.
“Nigerians will always keep fresh in their minds the roles both democrats played in saving the cherished institution of democracy in Nigeria by standing resolutely firm against all intimidating odds to fight against and scuttle the nefarious agenda then known as Third Term.
“Nigeria could not have hoped to have it any better than to be governed by a combination of those two extraordinary individuals in the capacities of President and SGF.
“It is in this spirit that we today pass a Vote of Confidence in the Leadership of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over Nigeria and SGF George Akume over us in the North-Central region.
“The reforms being pushed through the Nigerian economy by President Tinubu may indeed be painful at this material moment, but it remains our unwavering faith that the fruits will soon begin to bear on the tree of our nationhood.
“As Mr. President has said several times, the measures he took were inevitable, with the country’s economy having been subjected to injurious decay through one successive administration to another before his coming, and it was a matter of courage to take those steps he has taken to begin to turn things around.
“The process no doubt has brought pains and untold hardship upon Nigerians, including us and our families, but we acknowledge the fact that there could have been no other way around the situation, with the removal of subsidies on petroleum products top on the list of those necessary turn-around measures.
“At this stage we add our voice to the call on state governors to judiciously utilize the huge post subsidy removal funds which the Tinubu Presidency is making available to them to make life bearable for ordinary Nigerians in their various states.
“The initiative by Mr. President to centrally involve state governors in the measures to cushion the effects of post subsidy removal on Nigerians is most welcome and if properly managed, should serve to anchor the federal government driven public welfare schemes which are targeting in a deliberate and direct manner to reach ordinary Nigerians through cash transfers and student loans, among other measures.
“May we also use this opportunity to call for the creation of the North Central Development Commission to ensure parity of the region with other geopolitical regions of the country.
“The recent approval of development commissions for the South East and South West regions, while highly commendable and highlights the federal government’s commitment to addressing regional needs, however, leaves the North-Central as the sole region without a Development Commission in the country.
“We must underscore that while the region remains to date the most peaceful in the country without any history of violent agitation or collective subversive unrest, the creation of a Development Commission to oversee its developmental needs will bring out the strengths of its people and consolidate its role as the fulcrum of the Nigerian Federation.”
