By Edwin Phillip, Lafia

LAFIA — The North Central Development Commission (NCDC) is set to unveil a 20-year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the region at its inaugural North Central Stakeholders’ Development Summit.

The two-day summit, with the theme, “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region,” is scheduled to hold at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja.

The NCDC, in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Dr Makut Simon Macham, and made available to journalists in Lafia yesterday, said the summit would bring together political leaders, government institutions, traditional rulers, technocrats, private sector operators, youth and women groups, persons with disabilities, development partners and other stakeholders.

According to the commission, the summit is aimed at building broad stakeholder consensus and generating concrete recommendations for the formulation and implementation of a long-term development blueprint for the region.

The NCDC said the plan would seek to position the North Central as a major hub for economic growth, infrastructure, investment, innovation and social development in Nigeria.

The commission said Nasarawa State Governor and Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, would serve as Chief Host and lead governors of the six other North Central states and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to the summit.

Chairman of the NCDC, Dr Cosmas Akighir, said the summit would provide a strategic platform for stakeholders to examine the development challenges and opportunities confronting the region and chart a new course for its holistic transformation.

He said the gathering would convene stakeholders from government, the private sector, development partners, academia and civil society to develop a shared vision and actionable framework for the sustainable development of the North Central geopolitical zone.

Also, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC, Dr Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyil, said the summit was deliberately convened to galvanise strategic stakeholders within and outside the region towards actualising the mandate of the commission.

Tsenyil said the summit would also provide an opportunity to align the region’s development priorities with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

“It will further create a broad-based framework for partnerships, investments and interventions aimed at accelerating economic growth and improving the quality of life of the people,” he said.

He stressed that transforming the North Central could not be achieved by government alone, calling for stronger collaboration among governments at all levels, the private sector, development partners, communities and other stakeholders.

The Chairman of the Summit Steering Committee, Alhaji Suleiman Baba Ali, said the commission was working closely with its technical partner, Phillips Consulting, to ensure the summit produced meaningful outcomes that would reflect the aspirations of the people of the region.

The commission consequently called on stakeholders and development actors across the region and beyond to participate actively in the summit, describing it as a major step towards achieving “The Great Leap Forward” for the North Central.