The seven governors of Nigeria’s North-West geopolitical zone have committed to pursuing a coordinated regional agenda for peace, resilience, investment and economic opportunity, as Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly seeks to project the country’s development priorities on the global stage.
The governors made the commitment at a high-level event on the margins of UNGA 81 in New York, where they presented the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework (2026–2030) to development partners, financial institutions, investors and other international stakeholders.
The event was convened by the Northwest Governors’ Forum (NWGF) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and brought together the governors, UN officials led by Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, development partners, private-sector representatives, philanthropies and members of the diplomatic community.
The gathering also provides a prominent platform for the Northwest governors to project a united regional position at a time when President Bola Tinubu is again absent from the annual gathering of world leaders.
Tinubu personally attended the 78th UN General Assembly in 2023, his first as president. He did not attend the 79th session in 2024 or the 80th in 2025, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima representing him on both occasions. Shettima is again leading Nigeria’s delegation at the 81st session in 2026.
The Presidency has said the President’s absence does not diminish Nigeria’s diplomatic participation, stressing that Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement and participate in high-level and bilateral engagements during the General Assembly.
However, the repeated absence has generated political commentary. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, for instance, has questioned the decision to send the Vice-President for a third consecutive year.
Against this backdrop, the Northwest governors’ coordinated appearance has attracted attention, with critics likely to view the extensive regional engagement as helping to sustain Nigeria’s visibility at a major international gathering despite the President’s absence.
There is, however, no evidence establishing that the governors’ event was organised specifically to conceal or distract from Tinubu’s non-attendance.
The seven states covered by the framework are Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.
The governors said the framework was designed to move the region away from fragmented responses to insecurity, poverty, climate vulnerability, unemployment, displacement and limited access to essential services.
Home to more than 60 million people, the Northwest occupies a strategic position in Nigeria’s food systems, domestic commerce and regional trade.
Its economic assets include agriculture, livestock, solid minerals, renewable energy, industry, digital innovation and major commercial corridors linking communities and markets within Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
The region, however, continues to face interconnected pressures, including insecurity, climate shocks, poverty, unemployment, displacement and growing pressure on livelihoods and public institutions.
The governors are therefore positioning regional cooperation, rather than isolated state-by-state interventions, as a foundation for addressing challenges that cut across state boundaries.
Adopted by the seven governors in March 2026, the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework (2026–2030) provides a common strategic roadmap for addressing the drivers of fragility while strengthening the foundations for inclusive and resilient growth.
Developed with technical support from UNDP Nigeria and funding from the German Government through the Northwest Prevention Facility Project, the framework brings peace, security and development under one regional agenda.
A major focus of the UNGA engagement is the mobilisation of government resources, development assistance, development finance, philanthropic capital and responsible private investment around priority interventions.
The objective is to develop investment-ready projects capable of delivering measurable outcomes in peacebuilding, resilience, job creation and inclusive economic growth.
Priority areas include climate-smart agriculture and livestock value chains, renewable energy, trade and commercial infrastructure, digital innovation, human capital, social services and locally led enterprise development.
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara said the region could not rely on security measures alone to achieve sustainable prosperity.
“You cannot secure a region into prosperity. You have to invest in it,” Lawal said, adding that the framework provides the seven states with a common platform to connect peace, resilience and economic opportunity.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed commended the governors for speaking with one voice and developing a common framework for peace, security and sustainable development.
“Security operations are necessary, but they can only take us so far. There is no peace without development,” she said.
The framework builds on the inaugural Northwest Peace and Security Summit held in 2024 and the subsequent strengthening of the Northwest Governors’ Forum Secretariat as a platform for sustained cooperation among the seven states.
UNDP has also committed to supporting the implementation process through policy and institutional capacity building, improved coordination among the states, development of investment-ready opportunities and connections with development partners, financial institutions and responsible private capital.
UNDP Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu said lasting peace depended on creating conditions in which citizens could participate meaningfully in the region’s economic future.
The governors’ UNGA engagement comes as fragile and climate-vulnerable regions globally seek new approaches to financing resilience and development.
For the Northwest, the framework represents an attempt to link security with investment, livelihoods, jobs, infrastructure and institutional development, while using regional coordination to attract the partnerships and capital required for implementation.
At UNGA 81, the governors are therefore seeking to place the Northwest’s development priorities firmly within the international conversation on peacebuilding, resilience and sustainable economic development.
