SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has called for the development of a master plan, and prioritisation of needs by the North East Development Commission (NEDC) for the commission to effectively develop the region.
The Governor who made the call when members of the Senate Committee on Special Duties paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Maiduguri on Wednesday said, “the crisis in the North East is now in it’s 12 years and it has created severe humanitarian needs in the region. In Minguno alone we have over 300,000 internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) .
“The last time we were iin Monguno we distributed food items and cash worth over N1 billion which tcannot take them more than one month. The only solution to this us to create access for people to go back home and have access to their farm.”
“The Nexus between peace, security and development cannot be over emphasis, because unless there is peace and security there cannot be development.
“We therefore urge your committee and NEDC to invest in the security for the people to go back to their communities and have access to their farmlands. No government cannot afford to be giving handout to it’s citizens,” Zulum said.
He also said, “we want your committee to look into the security in the Northeast. The last time the commission distributed 100 vehicles to the police, Army, Airforce NSCDC, , hospitals among others which is commendable.
“We also need to address the root cause of the insurgrncy which are unemployment, illiteracy, environment degredatioon, poverty among others.”
The govenror further noted that the commission need to partner with the Northeast Governor’s Forum to prioritize its intervention within the next 19 years in the region for maximum benefit, pointing out that, with the scares resources all needs of the region cannot be a achieved but with proper planing and prioritization of projects a lot of impacts will be made..
Responding, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties which also supervises NEDC, NENA, others, Senator Yusuf Yusuf said, “we are here on a oversight function and also to see how best we can interface with the NEDC, the Northeast Governor’s Forum and other stakeholders to effectively achieve the mandate if the commission.”
“The NEDC basically has two mandates, humanitarian interventions and development. The commission within the last one year has done alot in humanitarian interventions and development. The NEDC has procured vehicles to security operatives, provision of humanitarian assistance and is ready to train o er 20,000 youths”, Yusuf said.
He also commended Governor Zulum for being courageous and standing for his people and working hard for the restoration of peace back to the state, adding that his (Zulum’s) likes is what the country needs.
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