President Bola Tinubu has called on state governors across the country to channel more resources into agricultural mechanisation, rural electrification, poverty eradication, and infrastructure development, especially in underserved communities.
The President appealed on Thursday during the 150th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), held at the State House Council Chambers in Abuja. He said the time had come for leaders at all levels to shift focus toward improving the lives of Nigerians at the grassroots.
“I want to appeal to you; let us change the story of our people in the rural areas. The economy is working. We are on the path of recovery, but we need to stimulate growth in the rural areas. We know the situation in the rural areas—let us collaborate and do what will benefit the people,” Tinubu said.
The President’s charge came after the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, presented a new initiative—Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP)—which received the NEC’s full endorsement.
The RHWDP aims to drive double-digit economic growth through direct development interventions in Nigeria’s 8,809 administrative wards. It is anchored on Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which targets a $1 trillion economy by 2030, requiring an ambitious 15% annual growth rate. Currently, Nigeria’s economic growth hovers below 4%.
The programme’s legal foundation is rooted in the 1999 Constitution and the Fifth Alteration Act, which mandates government policy to focus on food security and enhanced production techniques. It sets minimum thresholds of 1,000 economically active individuals for smaller wards and 2,000 for larger ones as its economic activation benchmarks.
A National Steering Committee comprising representatives from the six geopolitical zones will oversee implementation, with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning serving as secretariat.
In a bid to speed up the execution of legacy infrastructure projects—including the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry Super Highways—President Tinubu also directed NEC to establish a special committee. Additionally, he announced the transfer of the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation to the presidency to facilitate the smoother implementation of national projects.
He further urged state governors to complement federal efforts by enhancing agricultural productivity, addressing insecurity, and boosting school enrolment through school feeding programmes.
The NEC also resolved to strengthen State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) across all states and directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to release emergency funds to mitigate the potential impact of flooding, based on a presentation by Mrs. Zubaida Umar, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The meeting marked a pivotal step in Tinubu’s push for decentralised, ward-level development and collaborative federal-state interventions to accelerate economic recovery and improve living standards nationwide.
