The Northwest Governors’ Forum has met with senior United Nations officials and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to advance development initiatives in the region.

Speaking after the meeting in Abuja, the chairman of the forum, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State, stated that they agreed to prioritise impactful interventions in social protection, education, food security and climate adaptation.

He revealed that Governors Uba Sani (Kaduna), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto) and Umar Namadi (Jigawa) attended the meeting, which featured briefings from UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed and UN Resident Coordinator, Malick Fall, on progress with various programmes and strengthening regional collaboration.

He also disclosed that discussions with the AfDB focused on the Nigeria Agricultural Growth Scheme (NAG 2.0), which targets Northwestern states.

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“We are on the eve of implementing this programme, which will drive agricultural development and enhance value chains in the region,” he said.

Governor Radda added that further talks covered the second phase of the Special Agro-Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative and a livestock development plan. While the first phase included Kaduna and Kano states, the second phase will extend to all five Northwest states.

Additionally, he said the forum engaged with the Infrastructure Resilience Support (IRS) programme on renewable energy, particularly solar and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), for sustainable economic growth. It also expressed interest in accessing resources from the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) for the benefit of the region’s citizens.

Governor Radda further revealed that the forum appointed Ms Maryam Musa Yahaya as its pioneer director-general to strengthen regional coordination.

Ms Yahaya, he said, brings extensive experience in development partnerships and has worked with state governments through the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Secretariat.

Governor Radda also stated that each state governor has designated a focal person to coordinate development partner programmes. “We have unanimously agreed to work together on economic development, agriculture, tackling out-of-school children, poverty alleviation, and youth employment,” he stated.

He reaffirmed the forum’s support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s initiatives, saying, “All Northwest governors stand behind Mr President’s efforts to achieve economic prosperity for Nigeria.