Katsina State Governor and Chairman of the Northwest Governors’ Forum, Malam Umaru Dikko Radda, has emphasized the need for private investment and regional cooperation to address insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment in Nigeria’s Northwest. He made this call during high-level engagements on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Radda stressed that military operations alone cannot achieve sustainable peace, and that security must be combined with economic opportunities and development.
Radda highlighted the need to attract more private capital into development projects across the region, saying the challenge is increasingly about creating the right conditions for investors rather than a lack of financing options. He cited Katsina State’s experience with development financing partnerships, including 11 World Bank-funded projects valued at about $430 million, covering education, water, agriculture, rural roads, and environmental development.
The governor also mentioned that the African Development Bank is financing Katsina’s Agro-Industrial Processing Zone with $30 million, while the Islamic Development Bank is providing $60 million for the first phase of the state’s Integrated Agricultural Development Hubs. He identified stronger public-private partnership frameworks, de-risking mechanisms, reliable counterpart funding, and transparent monitoring as critical measures for attracting private investment into development projects.
At another high-level engagement on the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework, Radda urged the seven states in the region to strengthen cooperation in addressing insecurity, poverty, displacement, and economic challenges. He emphasized that security must be accompanied by opportunity, and that sustainable peace would require more than military intervention.
Radda called for increased investment in agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, skills development, and enterprise, urging investors and development partners to look beyond the region’s security challenges and consider its economic potential. He said the Northwest governors are committed to moving from the development of common plans to practical implementation that would improve livelihoods and strengthen stability across the region.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, commended the governors for presenting a common regional development plan and pledged the support of the UN. She highlighted the Northwest’s strategic importance to food production and called for coordinated financing, stronger institutions, job creation, and community-focused investments. Mohammed disclosed that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is developing a proposal for a Northwest-led Stabilisation-to-Transformation Programme and Financing Platform.
Key points
- - Katsina State Governor, Malam Umaru Dikko Radda, calls for increased private-sector investment and stronger regional cooperation to tackle insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment in Nigeria’s Northwest. - Radda emphasizes the need to combine security with economic opportunities and development to achieve sustainable peace. - The Northwest governors are committed to moving from the development of common plans to practical implementation that would improve livelihoods and strengthen stability across the region.
