By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
The Nineteen Seventeen Northern Consensus movement has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for renaming the Ministry for Nigerian Delta to Ministry for Regional Development.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed and made available to newsmen by Awwal Abdullahi Aliyu, National President of NSNCM and traditional title holder of Sarkin Yakin Kayan Babban, the movement expressed its support for the new ministry.
"We support this new Ministry, Mr. President, and we look forward to a pioneer and robust team to lay a solid foundation that will evolve with best practices with time," the statement read. "We, the Nineteen Seventeen Northern Consensus Movement (NSNCM) for Peace, Unity, Empowerment and Development Initiative, are an amalgamation of 596 affiliated registered associations of Northerners from the nineteen Northern States and associations of Northerners resident in the seventeen Southern States."
According to the movement, the new ministry will supervise various development commissions, including Niger Delta, South East, North East, and North West Zones, promoting prudent budgeting and funds management across the board. The movement's aims and objectives are to harmonize and integrate the Northern Region, cross-fertilize peace, socio-political, cultural, and economic values for the benefit of the regions and Nigeria.
The statement added that the ministry will generate developmental yardsticks to measure and evaluate specific targets across the board. "Cross-fertilization of bespoke peculiarities that arise from other commissions with their solutions could be adaptable as solutions for others," the movement explained. "Also, exchange or building capacities of specific skills or manpower between commissions."
The movement further emphasized that tangible projects affecting human growth can be replicated in all commissions, harmonizing and bridging the country as one giant economic unit. "Each Regional Commission will be saddled to explore, exploit, and develop naturally occurring mineral resources," the statement read. "Be it minerals from the North to crude oil in the South, aquaculture to agriculture, livestock to forestry."
The ministry is expected to come up with harmonized blueprints for primary, secondary, and tertiary processing hubs, leading to eventual industrialization, job security, growth, and peace in the country. "Peace and development are some of our main objectives," the movement stated. "It is also our responsibility to avail our 'Movement' to the New Ministry in areas of advocacy, enlightenment, and vital information dissemination."
President Tinubu's administration has made significant policy changes, including the creation of the Ministry of Regional Development, aimed at promoting regional growth and development
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