President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, met with the leadership of the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) and other regional development commissions at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to discuss security, infrastructure development, and the release of take-off funds to support their operations.

The NCDC delegation was led by its Chairman, Barr. Cosmas Akighir, and the Managing Director, Dr. Cyril Tsenyi. The meeting was coordinated by the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, who led the regional commissions to the Presidential Villa for a unified briefing and strategic dialogue.

Speaking after the closed-door session, Minister Momoh said the commissions have jointly adopted a four-phase master plan to drive development across their respective zones. He explained that the framework prioritizes security in the first phase, followed by sustainability initiatives, infrastructure expansion to improve market access, while the details of the final phase are expected to be disclosed subsequently.

A significant focus of the meeting was the challenge of delayed funding. The Chairman of the NCDC, Barr. Akighir noted that the commission’s inability to access the funds has stalled the take-off of key operational and developmental programs.

“We came to brief Mr. President and to request his intervention so that the take-off funds can be released,” Akighir said, expressing optimism that the engagement with President Tinubu would lead to a positive resolution.

Despite the funding delay, Akighir disclosed that the NCDC has already developed a clear roadmap and is working with consultants and technical partners to prepare project interventions across critical sectors, including health, education, and infrastructure in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President.

Minister Momoh assured that the Federal Government remains committed to supporting the newly created commissions and noted that the discussions with the President were constructive and forward-moving.

The meeting is expected to set the stage for the formal activation of major regional development initiatives in the coming months.