President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that 78 per cent of the beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N330 billion social protection programme are from northern Nigeria.
Speaking at the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit (NNIIS) 2025 in Abuja, Tinubu, represented by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, explained that the initiative has already reached millions of households through direct benefit transfers. According to him, “the funds distributed through direct benefit transfers have reached 8.1 million households nationwide, with 2.4 million households already receiving two tranches.” He added that “the process is verifiable as each beneficiary is uniquely identified.”
The President emphasised that northern Nigeria holds the key to the nation’s economic future due to its vast arable land, mineral resources, and energy potential. He noted that unlocking opportunities in mining, agriculture, and power would guarantee food security, improve exports, and accelerate industrialisation.
The summit, themed “Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture and Power,” brought together governors and stakeholders across the region to discuss pathways for sustainable economic growth and national development.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State urged fellow northern governors to take full responsibility for security in their domains, citing the increased revenue now available to states. He said, “For the first time in our history, all tiers of government are sharing more revenue than they ever imagined. Over N2.2 trillion was shared this month alone. When I became governor in 2019, we were sharing between N590 billion and N620 billion. Today, it is four times that amount.”
Sule noted that monthly allocations to the three tiers of government had quadrupled under the Tinubu administration, leaving no room for excuses on insecurity. He stressed, “Every state now has the resources to secure its people. We should stop blaming anybody for our insecurity. If we must blame anybody, it is ourselves.” He further called on governors to channel the windfall into sectors capable of transforming the economy, particularly mining, agriculture, and energy.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) had earlier confirmed the disbursement of N2.22 trillion among the three tiers of government in August, from a gross total of N3.63 trillion.
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State also addressed participants, urging the 19 northern states to forge a united front and speak with one voice on security and economic issues. His spokesperson, Sulaiman Idris, quoted him as commending the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), led by Ango Abdullahi, for convening the meeting. “By convening this gathering, you have once again demonstrated a clear-eyed focus on our collective future,” he said.
Lawal explained that the chosen focus areas of mining, agriculture, and power were strategic to building prosperity in northern Nigeria. He described the paradox facing Zamfara as a state rich in mineral wealth and arable land but with citizens yet to fully benefit from these endowments. “The choice of sectors (mining, agriculture, and power) is not accidental. It is a strategic diagnosis of the core pillars upon which the prosperity of northern Nigeria must be built,” he noted.
The Zamfara governor added that the main challenge for leaders was not identifying what should be done, but how to transform potential into tangible development. “We must collectively secure people and investments. Security is the fundamental prerequisite for any meaningful development,” he said. He warned that investors, both domestic and international, would not commit resources without safety. “Investors, both domestic and international, are not philanthropists; they are realists; they will not commit capital where it is not safe.”