Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has called on the governors of the 19 States in the Northern region of Nigeria to take lead in driving development in the region.

Dogara made this call during the 2025 Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit held in Abuja on Tuesday.

He emphasised that the State governors must be committed to addressing insecurity in their states and region at large, adding that all plans and strategies will fail in the midst of insecurity.

Dogara also stressed the effective management of public funds available to State government.

Read also: Jonathan, Osinbajo, Kwankwaso to meet over electoral reforms

Also speaking at the event, Bukola Saraki, former Senate President reiterated the need for the State governors to come together to share resources to drive one common objective in the region.

He said there was need for incentives to attract investments into the region, adding governors must begin to think outside the box.

“Is there any special incentive I get for going to set up in those states in the north as opposed to setting up in Lagos? Zero. So why do we think an investor would take that risk, that investment and go and set up? That’s why I’m saying that we have to have an holistic approach to this.

“By the end of the day, even if you put a super governor in those states today, you will not see those investments. But to do that, as I said, we must have a plan based on what is our objective. If we say, by this year, we want a cement production, then we begin to look at what are those things that we need to do. What’s the role of the governor? What’s the role of national government? What is the role of the businessman? And then bring them together.”

He also noted the prevalence of insecurity in the region, which he said is also a hindrance to attracting investments, except there are incentives.