Governor Muhammadu Yahaya of Gombe State has called on the North-East Governors’ Forum, NEGF, to move beyond policy resolutions and strengthen implementation mechanisms that deliver measurable results to citizens.
Speaking at the 13th meeting of the North-East Governors’ Forum in Maiduguri, Borno State, Governor Yahaya said the forum had recorded significant progress since its establishment in 2020, particularly in infrastructure, energy, connectivity, economic development and regional security.
He cited the rehabilitation of strategic roads, renewed efforts to improve regional power and connectivity, the revival of the North-East Trade Fair and progress towards establishing a regional airline as evidence of the benefits of collective action by the six states.
According to him, the NEGF was established because challenges confronting the region, including insurgency, banditry, cross-border crime, infrastructure deficits, energy shortages and the humanitarian crisis, could not be effectively tackled by individual states acting in isolation.
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He said, the forum, which has held meetings 12 times in six years, had evolved into an institutional platform comprising a Secretariat, a Technical Working Committee of Secretaries to State Governments, a Technical Working Group of experts and sectoral committees responsible for advancing decisions between meetings.
Governor Yahaya said one of the clearest outcomes of the forum’s collective advocacy was the joint presentation of 17 strategic road projects, the Port Harcourt-Jos-Bauchi-Maiduguri rail corridor and frontier oil exploration opportunities at Kolmani and the Lake Chad Basin to the Federal Government in September 2025.
He noted that the Federal Government subsequently flagged off the rehabilitation of the Dikwa-Gamboru Ngala and Bama–Banki roads, covering nearly 99 kilometres of strategic corridors critical to security, economic recovery and cross-border trade.
He said that the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri highway had been adopted as a legacy road project of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Energy and economic development
On energy, Governor Yahaya said the forum had helped shift the conversation from individual state concerns to a regional energy agenda, noting that the Dadinkowa Hydropower Plant was now feeding the national grid.
He said the new electricity law had also created opportunities for states to reform their electricity markets and expand renewable energy solutions, including solar power and mini-grids.
The revival of the North-East Trade Fair in Bauchi in 2024, he said, demonstrated how resolutions reached by the forum could be translated into concrete action.
The governor also cited the region’s N30 billion financing plan for the establishment of a regional airline, with each of the six states contributing N5 billion, as another example of collective regional action.
In human capital development, Governor Yahaya said all six states had domesticated the Education Law 2022 and established the North-East Education Council, while state-specific initiatives were being implemented to address the Almajiri and out-of-school children crisis.
He said Commissioners of Health across the region had also established a regional health platform to strengthen collaboration, improve responsiveness and facilitate the exchange of best practices.
Security remains a major challenge
On security, Governor Yahaya said the forum had transformed insecurity from six separate state-level challenges into a shared regional responsibility.
He said the approach combined military operations with interventions targeting the underlying drivers of insecurity, including poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, drug abuse and illegal mining.
He cited community-based security structures, including GOSTEC in Gombe and the Taraba Marshals, as examples of initiatives from which other states could draw lessons.
The governor said the forum’s collective efforts had also contributed to changing national and international perceptions of the North-East, with the regional narrative gradually shifting from emergency humanitarian assistance towards recovery, resettlement, stabilisation and long-term development.
He cautioned, however, that significant challenges remained.
“Boko Haram has been weakened but not defeated, and we still see attacks on our communities. Banditry and communal clashes are emerging as new threats,” he confirmed
He noted that many displaced residents were still waiting to return home safely and with dignity.
Governor Yahaya identified the non-realisation of the Mambilla hydropower project, railway connectivity to the region and broadband infrastructure as outstanding priorities requiring sustained advocacy.
He also said the promise of the Kolmani oil exploration project must translate into actual production, jobs and revenue, while the region’s solid mineral resources should be legally and responsibly exploited for the benefit of its people rather than allowed to finance criminal activities.
He expressed concern over the persistent burden of out-of-school children and weak health indicators across the region, stressing the need for sustained regional interventions.
Measurable results
Against this backdrop, Governor Yahaya called for stronger implementation and accountability mechanisms to close the gap between resolutions adopted by the forum and results delivered to citizens.
“To speak plainly, our next task is to turn political agreement into measurable results. We must close the gap between the resolutions we adopt and the outcomes our people can see and feel,” he analysed
He welcomed proposals for the establishment of a Results and Delivery Unit within the NEGF Secretariat, a dashboard to track federal infrastructure commitments, a regional power master plan, a stronger security and intelligence framework and a focused portfolio of flagship projects that could be completed and handed over.
Looking beyond the North-East, Governor Yahaya said the region’s challenges were interconnected with those facing northern Nigeria more broadly, including insecurity, poverty, unemployment, climate change, desertification, the out-of-school children crisis and infrastructure deficits.
He said the experience of the NEGF demonstrated that sub-regional cooperation could provide a practical model for addressing challenges that cut across state boundaries.
He disclosed that the Northern States Governors’ Forum was being restructured, with its institutions being strengthened to improve coordination, technical capacity and implementation across the 19 northern states.
The reforms, he said, included the establishment of the Northern Nigeria Security Trust Fund to provide a sustainable pooled source of support for security and peacebuilding initiatives across the region.
He also announced plans to reform the New Nigeria Development Company, NNDC, to restore its role as a vehicle for investment, enterprise and economic development across northern Nigeria.
Governor Yahaya stressed that the reforms were intended to complement, rather than replace, existing sub-regional platforms such as the NEGF.
“The past six-and-a-half years have proved that the Governors of this region can come together and agree. The years ahead must prove what our six states, working together, can achieve for our people,” he stated.
In his remarks, the host governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, commended the Federal Government for interventions supporting recovery and economic resilience in the North-East, particularly the one-billion-dollar Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP).
He said the intervention was significant for a sub-region that had endured prolonged insecurity, displacement, disrupted livelihoods and humanitarian dependence, adding that it could help vulnerable households rebuild their livelihoods and become economically self-reliant.
Governor Zulum stressed the need for a deliberate shift from relief to recovery and sustainable prosperity, with the return of displaced persons supported by access to housing, education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
He also acknowledged improvements in the security situation across the North-East, attributing the progress to the sacrifices of the Armed Forces and other security agencies, the resilience of the people and the commitment of governments at all levels.
