North East Governors Decry Terrorist Attacks, Poverty

The North East Governors’ Forum (NEGF) on Thursday frowned at what it described as neglect and rampant Boko Haram attacks in the region.

The governors attributed the atrocities to the lack of federal government presence.

Our Correspondent reports that the 11th NEGF meeting, held in Yobe, had in attendance the Governors of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe States, with the Governor of Bauchi State represented by the Deputy Governor.

According to a communique signed by the NEGF Chairman, Professor Babagana Umaru Zulum, our Correspondent obtained, the forum commended the federal government for improving the country’s security and resolved to collaborate and support it in all matters relating to emerging security issues.

The forum re-echoed its commitment to pursuing common issues of subregional concern and a collective course on matters related to the subregion’s security, social, and economic integration.

The forum noted with dismay the rising activities of the insurgents in the subregion and called for the armed forces, other security agencies, and community leaders to reappraise their strategy for countering the insurgency onslaught in the region.

Forum notes that addressing the security challenge in the Northeast requires a multidimensional approach that includes the kinetic strategy and the root causes, such as youth employment through vocational and technical education, improved road networks, improved education, and reduced poverty.

The communique added that the subregion’s poor road network contributes to its insecurity. It calls on the president to urgently address the issues of abandoned projects, which are critical to addressing poverty, insecurity, and general underdevelopment in the subregion.

Forum recommends opening up the subregion to investment opportunities, agriculture for food security, combating climate change, skills acquisition and the industrialisation of the subregion to employ the teaming youths who are vulnerable to recruitment into the army of the insurgents.

The Forum noted the Northeast Development Commission’s (NEDC) role in developing the subregion. It called on the commission to engage more with the various state governments on their development needs and priorities, especially in critical sectors such as road and transportation infrastructure, education, and health.

It equally called on the Commission to rededicate itself to its core mandate: to rebuild the subregion after the insurgency’s devastation and be more proactive in delivering existing projects by tracking project delivery timelines.

Also, the Forum notes the significance of the Nigerian Law School Yola Campus within the region and resolved to support its expansion by providing additional hostel accommodation, water supply, and other facilities to improve the admission capacity of the campus and make it more conducive to training.

However, the forum resolved to work closely with the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) by providing office space in each state, supporting the enrolment of Almajiri and out-of-school children into formal school, providing vocational and technical education, and developing a unified approach to addressing the menace in the subregion.