The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has announced the creation of the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Council (NNEDC) – a new coordinating body designed to drive industrialisation, attract investment, and harmonise development policies across the northern region.
The announcement followed the successful conclusion of the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialization Summit (NNIIS) held in Abuja, where participants pledged over $10 billion in new investments spanning mining, agriculture, and power sectors.
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 is anchored on three pillars – security, policy coherence, and private capital mobilisation.
The two-day summit, themed ‘Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture, and Power (MAP 2025)’, brought together federal officials, northern governors, the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), private sector leaders, development partners, financiers, academics, and civil society groups.
According to the communiqué, the event featured exhibitions by the 19 Northern States’ Investment Promotion Agencies, corporate sponsors, and Deal Room sessions (B2B, B2G), resulting in investment commitments exceeding $10 billion over the next five years.
Delegations from Turkey, India, Canada, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia also attended the summit, 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.
Governors from the North West, North East, and North Central regions signed the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Charter, committing their states to a unified regional economic vision.
The communiqué further stated that the NNEDC will operate under the joint oversight of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NNGF).
A Joint Implementation and Monitoring Taskforce (JIMT) will manage transitional activities and publish an operational roadmap within 60 days.
The NNEDC will also issue quarterly scorecards to track key outcomes such as job creation, energy expansion, and investment inflows.
NEF Director-General, Prof. D.D. Sheni, described the 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.