The Nigerian Government has commenced the Regional Technical Validation Workshop for the National Regional Development Policy (NRDP) as part of efforts to address structural and economic disparities across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
The workshop, held in Lafia, Nasarawa State, brought together policymakers, technical experts and development partners to review and refine the framework designed to guide regional growth and national development.
Speaking on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Mary Ada Ogbe, said the policy marked a major step toward coordinated regional transformation and inclusive economic development.
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Represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr Lambert Asotibe, the permanent secretary said the National Regional Development Policy was designed to move Nigeria away from fragmented development patterns toward a more coordinated and competitive regional framework.
“Prosperity concentrates around connectivity, infrastructure, institutions, productive ecosystems and markets. The task of regional policy is therefore not merely redistribution but the deliberate shaping of economic geography to unlock growth, inclusion and competitiveness at scale,” she stressed.
Dr Ogbe said the policy drew inspiration from Nigeria’s post-independence regional governance structure of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when autonomous and resource-backed regions drove socio-economic development through healthy competition.
According to her, the policy seeks to build modern regional institutions capable of driving economic growth, inclusion and competitiveness across the country.
Also speaking, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Ms Elsie Attafuah, reaffirmed the organisation’s support for Nigeria’s regional development agenda.
Represented by Policy and Research Specialist, Oluwasola Omoju, Attafuah said the policy document had undergone extensive reviews to ensure it was operationally viable and investment-ready.
“The National Regional Development Policy signals a decisive shift, one that takes a people-centric and inclusive approach,” she stated.
She added that the UNDP would continue supporting the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, Regional Development Commissions and state governments through its Integrated Smart States Programme approach.
Host of the workshop and Chief Executive Officer of the North Central Development Commission, Dr Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyi, described the policy as a critical framework for driving infrastructure development, economic growth and peacebuilding across the North Central region.
Dr Tsenyi said effective regional development required a coherent national framework capable of aligning federal, state and local government priorities.
“The NRDP will ensure no region is left behind in the pursuit of national prosperity,” he emphasised.
Participants at the workshop were urged to provide frank contributions to ensure the policy reflected the realities and development needs of Nigerians across the country.
The communiqué and recommendations from the Lafia workshop are expected to form part of deliberations at the forthcoming National Technical and Political Validation Workshop ahead of the policy’s final endorsement and implementation.
