Katsina State Governor and Chairman of the Northwest Governors’ Forum, Malam Dikko Radda, has urged investors and development partners to inject more private capital into the Northwest, saying economic opportunities are critical to defeating insecurity in the region.
Radda said the Northwest could not achieve lasting peace through military operations alone, stressing that security must be matched with jobs, investment and improved livelihoods.
The governor spoke at high-level events on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he presented Katsina State’s experience in development financing and the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula, Radda said the challenge was no longer the availability of development financing but the difficulty of attracting private capital into public development projects.
He said Katsina had benefited from 11 World Bank projects worth about $430 million, covering education, water, agriculture, rural roads and environmental development.
The African Development Bank, he added, was financing the state’s Agro-Industrial Processing Zone with $30 million, while the Islamic Development Bank was providing $60 million for the first phase of the Integrated Agricultural Development Hubs.
Radda identified stronger public-private partnership frameworks, de-risking mechanisms, reliable counterpart funding and transparent monitoring as key measures required to unlock more private investment.
At a separate high-level event on the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework, the governor urged the seven states in the region to work collectively to address insecurity, poverty, displacement and economic challenges.
‘Security must be accompanied by opportunity,’ he said, stressing that military operations alone could not deliver lasting peace.
He urged investors to look beyond the security challenges and tap into opportunities in agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, skills development and enterprise.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, commended the Northwest governors for presenting a common regional plan and pledged the UN’s support for the initiative.
Mohammed highlighted the Northwest’s strategic importance to food production and called for coordinated financing, stronger institutions, job creation and community-focused investments.
She disclosed that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was developing a proposal for a Northwest-led Stabilisation-to-Transformation Programme and Financing Platform.
Radda said the governors were ready to move from planning to implementation, urging development partners and private investors to partner with the region in building a more secure, productive and economically vibrant Northwest.