Story from Sa’adatu MAINA, Damaturu
Governors of the six states in the northeast are currently in a closed-door session of the North-East Governors’ Forum’s holding in Damaturu, Yobe State capital.
The meeting is being led by Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum who is chairman of the Northeast Governors Forum and hosted by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe. Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe is in attendance while Governors of Adamawa, Bauchi and Taraba are being represented by their deputies.
At the ceremonial opening of the meeting, held at the banquet hall of the Government House, Governor Zulum gave an overview of the forum’s activities and reaffirmed the forum’s commitment to ensuring peace and stability of the geo-political zone.
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The chairman noted that recent developments in the fight against terrorism has indicated the beginning of the end to the insurgency in the northeast region.
He however called on the military to intensify operations to free the zone of terror.
“I want to call on the Nigerian military to reach into the enclaves of the insurgents (who are not ready to lay down their arms), we must pursue them. For us to get rid of this crisis, we have to ensure that the remnants of the insurgents are pursued to their enclaves and neutralized” Zulum said.
Zulum said unless Boko Haram is brought to an end, there will be impediments to the overall growth and development of all the six states
In his welcome address, Governor Mai Mala Buni affirmed his commitment to the objectives of the forum. He spoke on the security situation, the military’s progress and the need for all stakeholders to sustain their collaboration in the fight against insurgents. He listed some gains being recorded by his administration and promised to continue in that direction in line with the vision of the northeast governors forum.
He expressed satisfaction with the initiative and commitment of the respective State Governments to such important meetings. “This underscores our collective commitment to free the Northeast sub-region from the clutches of insecurity, poverty and other emerging challenges of development in the aftermath of the over one decade of insurgency which devastated many communities in our states”.
Buni added that as the situation continues to improve, there is the need for each State to intensify its efforts in the recovery process and to evolve sustainable means of livelihood to our people for accelerated development. “This meeting has therefore provided another golden opportunity for us to share ideas on laying a solid foundation for a brighter future for our States.
There is no gainsaying the fact that we need to evolve practical and proactive measures to create a peaceful, stable, just and egalitarian society. We should strive to create the right atmosphere for equal opportunities to our citizenry regardless of political, tribal, religious, class or any other subjective factors with a view to avoiding recurrence of insurgency and other menaces”.
After the ceremonial opening, the Governors left the banquet hall for a closed-door meeting, during which they will listen to some reports and discuss issues of security, power, interventions by the Northeast Development Commission, among others.
