Northern Elders Secure $10bn Investments for Mining, Agriculture, Power

News in Brief:

-The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) unveiled a new regional development council and secured over $10 billion in investments for key sectors.

-The initiative aims to industrialise Northern Nigeria through mining, agriculture, and power, backed by both local and foreign investors.

In a bold move to revitalise northern Nigeria’s economy, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has launched an economic development council (NNEDC). This new body would coordinate large-scale investments, industrialisation, and job creation across the region.

The announcement came at the close of the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit (NNIIS) in Abuja, where stakeholders pledged over $10 billion in new investments spanning mining, agriculture, and power.

According to a communiqué signed by Professor Ango Abdullahi, Chairman of the forum's board, the development council will serve as the institutional framework for implementing a Northern Nigeria Economic Development Masterplan. The plan is anchored on three core pillars —Security, Policy Coherence, and Private Capital Mobilisation.

Global and Local Investors Back the Northern Agenda

The two-day summit, themed Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture, and Power (MAP 2025), attracted a diverse mix of stakeholders, including federal government officials, governors, the Nigerian National Development Corporation (NNDC), investors, development partners, academics, and private sector leaders.

Delegations from Turkey, India, Canada, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia were also in attendance, signalling strong international interest in Nigeria’s northern economy.

Speaking at the summit, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to partnering with regional leaders to unlock Northern Nigeria’s full economic potential.

Governors Sign Charter for a Unified Regional Economy

Governors from the North West, North East, and North Central zones signed the NNEDC Charter, pledging to align state-level development plans with a shared regional vision.

The newly created council will operate under the joint oversight of the NEF and the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NNGF), ensuring collaborative implementation of the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Masterplan (NNEDM).

A Joint Implementation and Monitoring Taskforce (JIMT) will supervise immediate actions and publish an operational roadmap within 60 days. The council will also release quarterly scorecards measuring progress in areas such as job creation, energy expansion, and investment inflows.

Agriculture and Mining Take Centre Stage

The summit spotlighted agriculture and mining as critical engines of regional transformation. Speakers emphasised that the North’s vast mineral deposits, including gold, copper, lithium, granite, and tantalite, could become the foundation for local industrialisation if backed by the right policies.

Professor D.D. Sheni, Director-General of the NEF, described the development as 'a decisive pivot from rhetoric to execution.'

“With security as the bedrock, policy coherence as the framework, and private capital as the engine, Northern Nigeria can turn its natural endowments into sustainable growth,” he said.

However, he warned of challenges such as illegal mining, poor environmental safeguards, and inadequate data on mineral resources. He called for reforms in mining governance, transparent royalty systems, and active community engagement to ensure the sustainability of mining operations.

Financing Growth Through Capital Market Instruments

Participants at the summit proposed a mix of innovative financial tools to support infrastructure and energy projects. These include infrastructure funds, sukuk, and green bonds, as well as blended finance vehicles, to attract both local and international capital.

They also advocated for digitised land administration systems, standardised public-private partnership (PPP) frameworks, and model contracts to speed up project delivery.

A Northern Nigeria Capital Mobilisation Programme is also on the horizon, expected to leverage development finance institutions (DFIs), pension funds, sovereign wealth, and diaspora capital to fund large-scale investments across the region.

Towards a Self-Reliant Northern Economy

NEF reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability, and inclusive prosperity as it ushers the region into a new era of economic coordination.

With over $10 billion pledged and a strong policy framework emerging, stakeholders say the NNEDC could become the turning point for Northern Nigeria, transforming its abundant natural and agricultural resources into sustainable industries that generate jobs and reduce poverty.