By Beatrice Gondyi
North-East governors have expressed their desire to have a sub regional security outfit to complement efforts of the military and other security agencies in combating insurgency and other crimes.

This was contained in a  communiqué issued at the end of the fourth meeting of the North-East Governors Forum held at the banquet hall of the Government House in Bauchi and read by Governor Ahmadu Fitiri of Adamawa State.

The governors appreciated the reinforced efforts in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminalities in the sub region.

“However, it strongly feels the need for community policing and sub regional security outfit to complement the effort of the military and other federal security agencies in combating.

According to the communiqué, in order to aggressively reposition education in the sub region, the governors resolved to form the North East Council on Education with the mandate to improve quality and performance of students, set up peer review and collect data to drive decision-making on education, including performance, admissions, regulatory framework, human resource management and digitalization among others.

The council, according to the communiqué, would be chaired by Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Aliyu Tilde.

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After extensive deliberations on the Mamila hydro power project, the  Forum noted with dismay that the project, as important as it is to the sub region, is only existing on papers but not in reality as it has not commenced.

“The Forum, therefore, calls on the Federal Government to accord the project the desired seriousness because of its anticipated impact in turning the fortunes of the sub region and the country at large,” the communiqué reads.

It noted the North-East remains shortchanged in capital appropriation in the 2021 budget of the Federal Government, adding that there is need for a supplementary budget for the zone to adequately take care of capital projects in the sub region.

“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 insurgency and build the resilience of the communities, there is need to make adequate allocation for capital projects in the sub region, for the buildup to the supplementary budget which is the only appropriation window to address apparent injustice in the region.”

The communique further informed that the governors noted with dismay the scourge of substance abuse in the sub region. They, therefore, resolved to collaborate with the Substance Abuse Research Team (SART), through the secretariats of the various state governments to fight the scourge.

Considering the prospect for oil exploration in the region, the governors resolved to have specialized institutions to provide the required local content in the oil and gas industry.

They commended both Bauchi and Gombe state governments for establishing an oil and gas academy for human, capital development.

The North-East Governors Forum resolved that after its meeting with the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, it would to work with the UK government in all areas beneficial to the sub region without compromising the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

While reiterating their  support to the North East development Commission (NEDC), the governors urged the commission to fast track the process of development of the masterplan for its activities within the sub region.

They also enjoined the commission to work closely with state governments on areas of intervention, noting that, “this will aid priority identification, close the needs gap and support project implementation.”

The Forum expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for selecting some roads in the North-East to benefit from the presidential Executive Order Number Seven to be constructed by Dangote Group and Lafarge/Ashaka Vement.

The governors, however, advised that there should be value in implementation of the project and called on the authorities concerned to maintain consultations with subnational especially the state governments in choosing the beneficiaries of such orders in the future.

The Forum acknowledge the works of the Great Green Wall in the sub region but called on the agency to develop a framework for regional/state partnership, submitting that, “this will engender robust collaboration with the subnational and produce maximum impact.”

According to the communiqué, the governors would reconvene on Wednesday, 2nd June, 2021 in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.