Yakubu Dogara has called for insecurity and poverty in Northern Nigeria to be treated as urgent priorities.
Speaking at a summit in Abuja, he warned national growth remains incomplete without regional progress.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has urged that insecurity and poverty in Northern Nigeria be addressed as urgent national priorities. He made this call during a panel discussion at the Nigeria Investment and Industrialization Summit (NNIIS) 2025, held in Abuja.
Dogara stressed that state governments in the region must place security at the top of their agenda and pool resources together, warning that Nigeria’s overall development would remain incomplete if the north continues to lag behind.
Also speaking, former Senate President Bukola Saraki said the challenges cannot be solved by the region alone. He advocated a coordinated national plan that clearly defines the roles of federal, state, and private sector players in driving growth and stability.
The summit’s keynote speaker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, highlighted the vast economic opportunities in northern Nigeria, suggesting that the region could serve as a continental trade hub through investment in digital customs and cross-border e-commerce platforms.
Abdulazeez Suleiman, former spokesperson of the Coalition of Northern Groups, added that the north was only beginning to display its immense untapped potential to the global community.
Presenting the closing summary, the Director-General of the Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Doknan Sheni, emphasized that participants must turn the summit’s resolutions into concrete action rather than mere discussions. The event ended with the signing of the Northern Nigeria Integrated Economic Development Charter, a framework designed to drive collaborative transformation across the region.
