Water Resources Minister Prof. Joseph Utsev urges a comprehensive security response for the North Central region at a summit attended by SGF Akume and governors of Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau, linking security to Nigeria's food and water agenda.
Makurdi, Benue State — August 31, 2026
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, has called for a comprehensive, coordinated approach to addressing security challenges across Nigeria's North Central region, describing the threats facing the zone as too complex for any single agency or government tier to resolve alone.
Speaking to journalists after the North Central Security Summit 2026 at the New Banquet Hall, Government House, Makurdi, Utsev said the region's security challenges span terrorism, kidnapping, illegal mining, human trafficking, and bandit attacks on farmers, a mix of criminalities he said demands a more unified response from all stakeholders to restore lasting peace and allow farmers to return to large-scale agriculture and boost food production.
Utsev highlighted the North Central region's abundant rivers, groundwater resources, and dams, stressing that the Tinubu administration remains committed to harnessing the country's water resources to advance food security, economic growth, and improved livelihoods.
He said the Federal Government, working with states and development partners, has developed a National Water Compact aimed at scaling up investment in priority areas, water for people, water for food, and water for the planet as part of a broader contribution to national peace, food security, and prosperity.
He also pointed to the ongoing implementation of the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) initiative, which seeks to expand irrigation, improve water management, and support sustainable agricultural production, framing improved water infrastructure as directly linked to reducing the farmer-focused violence plaguing the region.
The summit, themed "Collaborative Approach to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability," was organised by the Federal Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement.
It was designed to examine the region's evolving security landscape and emerging threats, strengthen collaboration between federal and state governments, security and intelligence agencies, traditional institutions, and other stakeholders, and promote intelligence sharing, inter-agency coordination, and community-based approaches to conflict prevention, early warning, and rapid response.
President Bola Tinubu was represented at the summit by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who delivered the keynote address.
The gathering drew Governors Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau) in person, alongside representatives of the Governors of Niger, Kogi, and Kwara States, federal ministers from the zone, State and National Assembly members, traditional and opinion leaders, and retired military officers.
The summit adds significant federal weight to a growing chorus of concern over North Central insecurity, coming just days after President Tinubu personally ordered a coordinated rescue operation for victims of the Niger State mosque abductions, and amid sustained pressure from the Northern Senators Forum, the Arewa Consultative Forum, and the Catholic Bishops' Conference for a more decisive, prevention-focused security strategy across the zone.
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