Vice President Kashim Shettima has called on the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to expand the scope of its interventions in the north east region to cover more road projects regardless of their status.
He stated this yesterday in Maiduguri at the official flag-off ceremony for the distribution of palliatives in the north east region and the groundbreaking for the Jere Bowl Road project.
The event coincided with the 8th meeting of North East Governors’ Forum.
The vice president, in a statement by his media office said, “I want to urge the NEDC board to expand the scope of its intervention to cover more road projects across the northeast region, including the Gombe-Bauchi, Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu and Gujiba-Biu roads, among many others.
“Though these roads are regarded as Trunk A roads, they will eventually be used by Nigerians, particularly the people of the northeast.”
The vice president commended the NEDC board for its prudent management of resources and applauded the support of political leaders, including legislators from the northeast region for standing firm with the commission.
While tracing the history of the crisis in the zone, Sen Shettima decried the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on the northeast, noting that it has “inflicted damages in the northeast to the tune of 9 billion dollars. Borno alone has damages worth 6.8 billion dollars.”
“There are similar destructions across Adamawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba. If northeast of Nigeria was to be treated as a nation, we are poorer than Chad, Afghanistan, Niger,” the VP added.
He commended the efforts of governors across the region for uniting the people despite their socio-political differences.
