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The seven governorship candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Nigeria’s Northwest have signed a regional development compact aimed at tackling insecurity, poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and weak human development through coordinated action across the seven states.

The Northwest ADC Governorship Candidates’ Compact 2027–2031, was adopted and signed on Wednesday by the party’s governorship candidates from Sabo Mohammed Nakudu (Jigawa), Isa Mohammed Ashiru (Kaduna), Ibrahim Ali Amin (Kano), Ahmad Babba Kaita (Katsina), Abubakar Malami SAN (Kebbi), Manir Muhammad Dan’iya (Sokoto) and Bilyaminu Shinkafi (Zamfara).

As a commitment to the pursuit of these ideals, the governorship candidates announced the establishment of a Central Coordination Committee chaired by Rt Hon Abdussamad Dasuki;

Technical Committee chaired by Maj Gen Aminu Bande (rtd) and co-chaired by Prof. Sadiq Abubakar; and Media and Strategic Communications Committee co-chaired by Salihu Tanko Yakasai.

 

The document sets out a common governance framework for the candidates if elected in the 2027 elections, with commitments covering security, agriculture, education, healthcare, youth employment, infrastructure, trade, industrialisation and public accountability.

The candidates said the initiative was based on the recognition that many of the region’s most serious problems do not stop at state boundaries and therefore require coordinated solutions.

“Seven states. One regional purpose. Governing together where together works better,” the candidates said in the Compact.

The proposed arrangement would not replace the constitutional responsibilities of individual states. Rather, each state would retain responsibility for its budgets, procurement, civil service, education, healthcare, agriculture, land administration, internally generated revenue and infrastructure within its boundaries, while the governors would collaborate on issues where joint action could produce better results.

The Compact comes against the backdrop of a prolonged security and humanitarian crisis affecting communities across the Northwest.

The document cites more than 16,000 fatalities recorded between June 2023 and August 2026 and 1,583 kidnapping events across the region since January 2023, involving more than 10,000 reported abductees.

It also points to widespread displacement and the abandonment of productive agricultural land in parts of the region, including about 533,000 hectares reported abandoned in Zamfara and Katsina.

The candidates argue that insecurity has become closely linked to other economic and social problems, creating a cycle in which unsafe communities lead to abandoned farms, reduced food production, higher food prices, school disruption and increased vulnerability among young people.

The Compact summarises the cycle as: insecurity, empty farms, hunger, children out of school, recruitable youth and insecurity.

“One crisis deepens every other. A regional problem demands a regional response,” the candidates said.

The document also raises questions about the relationship between public spending and citizens’ living conditions.

It estimates that the seven Northwest states and their 186 local government areas received approximately N8.33 trillion in FAAC allocations between June 2023 and August 2026, excluding other Federal Government interventions and special transfers.

The candidates sharply criticised the performance of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administrations currently governing the seven Northwest states.

They accused the administrations of presiding over what they described as massive and unprecedented looting of public resources, alleging that the region had little to show for the funds entrusted to its governments.

The candidates said the alleged failure was visible in the condition of public infrastructure, the security situation and the living standards of ordinary citizens.

“The level of looting witnessed across the Northwest under the current administrations is massive and unprecedented in the region,” the candidates said.

They further alleged that the APC-led governments had “little or nothing to show for their stewardship, neither in the lives of our people, physical infrastructure nor the security of lives and property.”

According to the candidates, the region’s worsening economic conditions stood in sharp contrast to what they described as the conspicuous affluence of some serving governors.

They accused current governors of spending public resources on new government houses, exotic vehicles and private-jet travel while large sections of the population struggle with poverty.

The ADC candidates said their Compact was intended to establish a different standard of public leadership.

The candidates said public resources must translate into measurable improvements in household welfare.

“The question is no longer simply what government receives. The question is what citizens can see, access and afford as a result,” they said.

Security is the first major pillar of the Compact, with the candidates proposing the establishment of 21 command-and-control centres, one in every senatorial district across the seven states, linked to state security structures and a proposed Northwest Regional Security Coordination Centre.

The proposed architecture would combine lawful aerial surveillance, drone-enabled vigilance, community intelligence, emergency reporting and geospatial information to improve early warning and response.

The candidates have also proposed a three-minute rapid-response activation standard for verified security alerts.

Under the plan, security information would move through a sequence of surveillance, early warning, verification, command and control and rapid response.

The candidates also propose protected agricultural corridors, where security arrangements would be coordinated with the return of farmers to high-risk production areas.

They said the ultimate objective was to restore normal economic activity rather than treat security as an isolated issue.

Security must mean more than military operations. It must mean that a farmer can reach his field, a trader can travel safely, a child can get to school and a family can live without fear, the candidates said.

Under its household protection, another element of the proposed programme, the candidates pledged to implement a N110,000 minimum wage for government workers across the seven states and said economic reforms would be accompanied by measures aimed at cushioning vulnerable households.

Under their five systems that guarantee prosperity, they listed Agriculture and Food, Education and Human Capital, Health Security, infrastructure and Integration, Youth, Enterprise and Jobs.

 

On infrastructure and integration, the candidates pledged to prioritise regional infrastructure (roads, rail network), independent power generation, solar power for public facilities, water systems, digital backbone and the border and logistics infrastructure which trade depends on. In the area of health security, they promised to ensure full access to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), revitalize primary health care centers, expand midwives, telemedicine and community health insurance deployment, and establish one specialist hospital in each senatorial district (21 region wide)

 

On Youth, Enterprise and Jobs, the candidates pledged to coordinate access to a Regional Youth Fund, prioritize Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), establish digital hubs, formalize MSME and facilitate access to development finance. The seven governorship candidates also promised to declare emergency on education, secure full UBEC access, integrate Almajiri and Tsangaya children into formal schools, support girls’ school attendance, and build a credible system for teacher recruitment, continuous training and mopping up out-of-school children.

For Agriculture and Food, they promised to ensure more land is safely farmed, strengthening of food security through protected agricultural corridors, formalised livestock production, agro-processing, a regional grain reserve and irrigation rehabilitation.

The candidates also called for the release of Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru El Rufai.