The NCDC's maiden North Central Stakeholders' Development Summit, September 14-15 in Abuja, will unveil "The Great Leap Forward", a 20-year economic and infrastructure plan, with Gowon, Babangida, and Abubakar attending.
Abuja / Lafia — September 4-5, 2026
The North Central Development Commission (NCDC) will convene its maiden North Central Stakeholders' Development Summit on September 14-15 at the Abuja Continental Hotel, where President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the region's governors are expected to help chart a 20-year development blueprint for the zone.
The two-day summit is themed "The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region," according to a statement from NCDC's Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Dr. Makut Simon Macham, issued in Lafia.
President Tinubu is expected to attend as Distinguished Guest of Honour, with Vice President Shettima serving as Special Guest. Notably, three former Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida, and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, are billed to attend as "Fathers of the Day," lending significant historical and political weight to the gathering. The keynote address will be delivered by academic, diplomat, and politician Professor Iorwuese Hagher.
The summit will bring together top political leaders, key government institutions, traditional rulers, technocrats, private sector players, youth and women's groups, persons with disabilities, and development partners to deliberate on a comprehensive development agenda covering infrastructure, security, agriculture, mining, and social development.
Chairman of the Summit Steering Committee, Alhaji Suleiman Baba Ali, said the NCDC is working with technical partner Phillips Consulting to ensure the summit produces practical, actionable outcomes rather than symbolic recommendations.
The opening ceremony holds Monday, September 14, while day two will feature panel discussions, technical sessions, breakout sessions, and side meetings. NCDC Chairman Dr. Cosmas Akighir said the summit is designed to align the region's development priorities with the Federal Government's Renewed Hope Agenda, while NCDC's Tsenyil stressed that "transforming the North Central region cannot be achieved by government alone," calling for deeper collaboration across governments, the private sector, and communities.
The commission expects the summit to produce broad stakeholder consensus and concrete recommendations to guide implementation of the 20-year blueprint.
The summit's ambitious economic framing arrives against the backdrop of an extraordinarily difficult year for the North Central zone including the Mangu mass-casualty attacks, the Borgu mosque abductions, and a wave of highway kidnappings across Kogi and Kwara, raising the question of how much of a 20-year development conversation can meaningfully proceed without the security summit's own earlier, more narrowly attended gathering translating into durable results first.
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