PCNI intensifies effort to achieve "Buhari Plan" for North East

The Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), whose overall objective is to rebuild the insurgency-ravaged North East has taken steps to ensure the actualisation of the Nigerian Plan for the region through the judicious and effective application and management of human and material resources.

Delivering the welcome speech at its 1st Stakeholders monthly Coordination Meeting Held in Abuja yesterday, the Chairman,  Lt. Gen T. Y. Danjuma (Rtd) who was represented by the Vice Chairman, Alhaji Tijjani Musa Tumsah, said the mandate of the committee, apart from spearheading the coordination of all interventions accruing to the area, includes building the capacity of the people to enable them bring about the change they long to see.

“Our vision for the North East as the apex coordinating body of all interventions for the North East is not only to build back better destroyed structures and institutions that would support the needs and aspirations of the people of the North East and to resettle the displaced persons but also to build resilience capacity of the people who are the ultimate drivers of the change they would want to see in their communities in the long run. This calls for a framework that would guide this vision. And that framework is the Buhari Plan,” the Chairman explained.

The Buhari Plan is a collective national vision for the North East derived from the harmonisation of assessments, reports and studies such as the Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA); North East States Transformation Strategy (NESTS); Long Term Economic Reconstruction and Development Plan prepared in collaboration with MDAs; 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Humanitarian Country Team just to mention a few. This has further been distilled into High Impact Programmes for the North East.

Explaining further, Danjuma said, “The monthly coordination meeting being proposed has become imperative in view of the determination of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to stamp out inefficiency in the application of resources.

“As an apex coordinating body we have keyed into this message. Hence we are convening this meeting to afford us the opportunity to discuss ways through which we can best avoid duplication of efforts and wastage that may arise in addition to identifying gaps and filling them.”

The General mentioned the aims and objectives of the meeting to include but not limited to: carrying the people along in the rebuilding effort; presenting to them PCNI’s monthly coordination processes, tools and mechanism; evolving better strategy for coordination and identification of gaps.

Expressing the hope that the deliberations at the meeting would come up with the best strategy to ease gaps identification while enhancing PCNI coordination role, eliminating duplications and ensuring judicious use of resources appropriated in the 2017 budget for the North East, stressing however that the people’s cooperation as critical stakeholders is key to attaining the aims and objectives as well as the successful delivery of the Buhari Plan.

Following the goodwill messages Presented by representatives of the National ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State MDAs, including the State Emergency Management Agencies from the six component states of the region,  with all pledging  cooperation and support for PCNI,  an overview of PCNI’s proposed Monthly Coordination Process and Forum was presented by Hajiya (Dr) Saudatu Mahdi.

Giving a breakdown of the planned process of coordination and how it is to be effectively achieved, Hajiya Mahdi said PCNI is not in the driver’s seat to Lord it over other stakeholders and the people of the Northeast,  but to stir warm and productive interaction and relationship among all for smooth implementation and eventual achievement of the Nigerian plan.