North East Govs Demand Revival Of Oil Exploration In Region

Governors of the North-East states have urged the federal government to revive oil exploration in Borno State, just as they commended the revival of the Kolmani oil drilling project in Gombe State.

They made the appeal in communiqué at the end of the 13th regular meeting of the North East Governors Forum in Maiduguri yesterday.

The which began on Friday brought governors and top officials from the six North-Eastern states—Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe—to deliberate on regional security, economic integration, and infrastructure.

Forum vice chairman and governor of Adamawa State, Rt. Hon. Umaru Fintiri, urged the federal government to revisit exploration activities in Magumeri and Gubio local government areas of Borno State.

They expressed delight on renewed federal attention on key regional infrastructure projects including the Port Harcourt–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Maiduguri rail corridor, frontier oil exploration at Kolmani, and the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Maiduguri highway.

The forum described regional unity as its most significant achievement which has enabled a collective voice for developmental results.

The governors lauded efforts by member states to shift to regional energy agenda through the Dadinkowa hydropower plant which now feeds the national grid and encouraged states to leverage the new electricity law and abundant solar resources to expand mini-grid solutions.

They urged the federal government to hasten completion of the Mambila Hydropower Plant after clearance of legal encumbrances through an arbitration ruling.

To ease transportation costs and stimulate economic activities, the Forum announced a partnership with Green Ville Energy to establish more Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) stations across the region.

The forum also acknowledged the Federal Government and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) for providing 10,000 electric tricycles, 10 electric buses, and 300 electric taxis set to launch in October, alongside plans to float a North-East regional air shuttle service to facilitate faster movement of people and goods.

While acknowledging appreciable successes in the ongoing fight against insurgency—and praising the sacrifices of the Armed Forces—the Forum noted that the subregion still faces daunting humanitarian and infrastructural hurdles.

The governors reaffirmed their commitment to intelligence sharing, inter-state security cooperation, and addressing the root socio-economic drivers of youth exploitation by extremist elements.

Recognizing that the North-East holds one of the youngest populations in the country, the Forum pledged to prioritize quality education, vocational and entrepreneurial training, and technology-driven employment for youth.

The governors also called on the NEDC to ramp up investments in education, expedite long-awaited scholarship awards for indigent students, reduce the number of out-of-school children, and support Tsangaya education.

To combat environmental degradation, the region agreed to partner with the Institute of Forest Research to train local forest experts and counter deforestation.

The Forum announced that its next meeting will be held on December 18–19, 2026, in Gombe State.