Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, Borno State Governor, Chairman, North East Governors Forum
By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
North-East Governors Forum has strongly supported the need for community policing and sub-regional security outfit to compliment the efforts of the Military and other Federal Security Agencies in addressing the insecurity challenges devastating the subregion.
This was contained in a communique issued at the of the 4th meeting of Governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States, under the auspices of North East Governors’ Forum meeting held in Bauchi on Wednesday and discussed, among other things, the challenges facing the sub-region.
Though the Forum appreciated the reinforced efforts in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminalities in the sub-region, however, it called for more to be done if the war against insurgency must be won.
The Forum in the communique read by Adamawa state Governor, Alhaji Adamu Fintiri, deliberated extensively on the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and noted with dismay, that the project as important as it is to Nigeria and the North-East sub-region, is only existing on paper but in reality even the project has not commenced.
The Forum therefore called on the Federal Government to accord the project the desired seriousness because of its anticipated impact in turning around the fortunes of the sub-region and the country at large.
The Forum also noted the need to be aggressive in repositioning Education in the sub-region and resolved to form the North East Council on Education, with the mandate to improve quality and performance of students, set up peer review, and collate data to drive decision making on education including performance, admissions, regulatory framework, human resource management and digitalization among others.
The Council is to be chaired by the Bauchi State Commissioner for Education – Dr. Aliyu Tilde.
The Forum further noted that the zone remains short-changed in Capital Appropriation in the 2021 budget while recognizing that the budget is already passed and signed into law, in view of the precarious situation of the sub-region with the fact that the region requires aggressive infrastructural intervention to defeat the insurgency and build the resilience of the communities, there is need to make adequate allocation for capital projects for the sub-region in the build up to the supplementary budget which is the only appropriation window to redress the apparent injustice to the region.
The Forum also noted with thanks the selection of some roads in the sub-region to benefit from the Presidential Executive Order 07, to be constructed by Dangote Group and Lafarge/Ashaka.
However, the Forum advised that there should be value in implementation of the projects, while calling on the authorities concerned to maintain consultations with the sub-nationals, especially State Governments while choosing beneficiaries of such Orders in the future.
The Forum, after meeting with the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Catriona Laing, resolved to work with the UK Government in all the areas beneficial to the sub-region without compromising the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Forum, acknowledged works of the Great Green Wall in the sub-region, but call on the Agency to develop a framework for regional/State partnership which would engender robust collaboration with the sub-nationals and produce maximum impact.
The Forum also noted with dismay the scourge of substance abuse in the sub-region and therefore resolved to collaborate with the Substance Abuse Research Team (SART), through the Secretaries of the various State Governments to fight the scourge.
The Forum however reiterated its support for the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and urged it to fast track the process of development of a Masterplan for its activities within the Sub-region.
It also enjoined the Commission to work closely with the State Governments on areas of intervention which would aid priority identification, close the needs gap and support project implementation.
The Forum considered the prospect for oil exploration in the region and resolved to have specialized institutions to provide the required local contents in the Oil and Gas industry and commended the Bauchi and Gombe State Governments for establishing the Oil and Gas Academy for Human Capital Development.
The Meeting which was presided over Professor Babagana Umara Zulum,
Chairman, North East Governors’ Forum (NEGF)/ Executive Governor of Borno State adjourned to reconvene on Wednesday, 2nd June, 2021 at Jalingo, Taraba State for the next meeting.
