The National Economic Council has directed all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to contribute N200 million each toward the Renewed Hope Cultural Project and Naija Season. The initiative is aimed at promoting a unified national cultural and tourism calendar in Nigeria.
According to punchng, the resolution was among several decisions taken at the 157th meeting of NEC, held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The meeting also approved the adoption of 112 as the national emergency number, directed the Ministry of Finance to release approved funds for the rehabilitation of police training institutions, and received presentations on polio eradication and Nigeria’s industrial policy.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed on Thursday titled ‘NEC Moves To Strengthen National Emergency Response, Okays 112 As Lifeline’.
On the cultural project, Council approved the N200m sub-national contribution request after a presentation by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, which described Naija Season as an aggregation of the festivals, cultural events, tourism attractions and creative economy activities of all 36 states and the FCT under one coordinated national platform.
The ministry told Council that the Renewed Hope Cultural Project focuses on the preservation and restoration of historic sites, palaces and monuments; capacity building; the establishment of Renewed Hope Creative and Cultural Villages; and the promotion of Nigerian culture and tourism assets nationally.
The projected economic impact, it said, includes up to one million jobs by 2030, increased diaspora inflows and stronger global cultural influence for Nigeria.
Council also called for robust engagement with sub-nationals to ensure the project’s actualisation, signalling that the N200m directive is only the beginning of a deeper partnership framework between the federal government and states on creative economy development.
If all 36 states and the FCT contribute the approved amount, the sub-national pool alone would generate N7.4bn.
At the meeting, Shettima used the 112 emergency number adoption to urge governors on the pace of reform delivery.
The Vice President said the approval of a single national emergency number was not merely a technical decision but a test of the state’s humanity.
He said, “In moments of fire, accident, robbery, medical emergency, flood, violence, or panic, citizens do not need bureaucracy. They need a response.
“They need to know one number to call, one system to trust, and one coordinated chain of action that moves quickly enough to save lives.”
He told Council members that NEC was the nation’s economic engine room, where federal and state governments must convert the Renewed Hope Agenda into practical outcomes.
“We cannot build our way to a one-trillion-dollar economy by federal effort alone.
“We cannot create millions of jobs by speeches alone. We cannot expand exports, attract investment, secure communities, or unlock productivity unless every tier of government understands its role and performs it with urgency,” Shettima said.
He further challenged governors, saying, “History will not ask how many meetings we held. It will ask what changed because we met.
“It will ask whether our decisions reached the farmer, the manufacturer, the artist, the investor, the accident victim, the unemployed graduate, and the child waiting to inherit the country we are rebuilding.”
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NEC also received an update on the rehabilitation of police training institutions from an ad hoc committee led by Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, commending the committee’s work and directing the Ministry of Finance to expedite the release of the balance of approved funds.
Council asked the committee to ensure national spread by capturing training institutions in each geopolitical zone in the first phase.
On polio, NEC approved the expansion of its ad hoc committee on eradication to include seven additional high-risk states, Jigawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Niger, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa.
The second group of 12 states, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, Kwara and Nasarawa, will initiate vaccination efforts from May 2.
The meeting also heard a briefing on the National Industrial Policy from the Minister of State for Industry, with Council noting that the Nigeria Industrial Cluster Programme targets 76 clusters with a potential to generate $2.74bn in total revenue over 25 years.
Council commended the minister’s efforts in developing sub-national industrial policies to align state-level strategies with the NIP.
The Excess Crude Account stood at $535,823.39 as of April 27, 2026, the Stabilisation Account at N72.84bn, and the Natural Resources Account at N158.19bn, the Accountant General of the Federation told the meeting.
