The South-West Development Commission (SWDC) has inaugurated an Action Committee to drive the implementation of TransComs, its flagship rural transformation initiative aimed at accelerating development across communities in the Southwest.
The committee is expected to transform the programme from planning to execution by delivering pilot projects and preparing the framework for expansion across the region within 180 days.
The committee will be jointly led by SWDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Diji Akinola, and Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Programme Director of the Foundation for Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development (FTID), the commission’s technical partner on the project.
Speaking during the inauguration at the end of the TransComs co-creation roundtable held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Akinola described the committee as the commission’s “delivery engine,” stressing that its responsibility would be to ensure the programme moves swiftly from consultations to measurable impact in rural communities.
According to him, the committee has been structured around four strategic pillars designed to strengthen credibility and minimise implementation risks.
Key financial institutions, including the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Bank of Industry (BoI), alongside the South-West Agribusiness Company (SWAgCo), will oversee the finance and investment component of the initiative.
Policy coordination will involve the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission (DAWN Commission), the Southwest Governors’ Forum, as well as commissioners for agriculture and budget from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.
The private sector and technical stream will include agribusiness firms such as Psaltery International and Niji Farms, in addition to logistics and energy experts and senior officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
Development partners, including the Sasakawa Africa Association and UNICEF, are also expected to provide technical support and community engagement services.
The committee’s immediate assignment includes coordinating partnerships among federal, state and private sector stakeholders, mobilising financial and technical resources, and implementing pilot schemes in Fapote, Ogbomoso and Ara in Osun State.
It will also collaborate with state and local governments to establish governance and sustainability frameworks for the expansion of the initiative to all 137 local government areas in the Southwest.
“TransComs is not another report on the shelf. This committee is our delivery engine,” Akinola stated.
TransComs, meaning Transformed Communities, is a cluster-based rural development model designed to convert rural settlements into integrated economic hubs by linking agriculture with housing, logistics, enterprise development and youth empowerment.
The initiative targets increasing household income from about $2 to $10 per day within five years
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka described TransComs as a community-driven economic model where residents can work, trade, learn and build sustainable livelihoods, with agriculture serving as the foundation for broader economic prosperity.
