Insecurity: Northeast Governors Demand For Community Policing

BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – North-East Governors Forum (NEGF) rose from its 4th meeting in Bauchi on Wednesday declaring their unflinching support for the establishment of community policing and sub-regional outfits to compliment the efforts of the military and other federal security agencies in fighting insecurity and other criminalities in the sub-region.

This is as the Forum commended the reinforced efforts in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminalities, calling however for more efforts in combating the menace in the sub-region.

In a ten-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, members of the Forum comprising of governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States, called on the federal government to accord the Mambilla Hydro-Electric Power project the seriousness it deserves.

The communique signed by the Chairman of the Forum, Governor Babagana Zulum and read by the Governor Adamu Fintiri of Adamawa State, stressed that the power project as important as it is, only exists on paper, but in reality, the project is yet to commence.

The Forum also noted that the zone remains short-changed in capital appropriation in the 2021 budget, adding that in view of the precarious situation of the sub-region with the fact that the region requires aggressive infrastructural intervention to defeat the insurgency and build the resilience of the communities, there is need to make adequate allocation for capital projects for the sub-region in the build up to the supplementary budget which is the only appropriation window to redress the apparent injustice to the region.

It however commended the Federal Government for the selection of some roads in the sub-region to benefit from the Presidential Executive Order 07, to be constructed by Dangote Group and Lafarge/Ashaka.

The Forum however advised that there should be value in the implementation of the projects and therefore called on the authorities concerned to maintain consultations with the sub-nationals, especially State Governments while choosing beneficiaries of such Orders in the future.

The North-East governors stressed the need to be aggressive in repositioning education in the sub-region and resolved to form the North East Council on Education to be chaired by the Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr Aliyu Tilde.

The Council is mandated to improve quality and performance of students, set up peer review, and collate data to drive decision making on education including performance, admissions, regulatory framework, human resource management and digitalization among others. The communique further states; “The Forum, after meeting with the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, resolved to work with the UK Government in all the areas beneficial to the sub-region without compromising the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The Forum acknowledged works of the Great Green Wall in the sub-region, but call on the Agency to develop a framework for regional/State partnership. This would engender robust collaboration with the sub-nationals and produce maximum impact.

“The Forum notes with dismay the scourge of substance abuse in the sub-region. It therefore resolved to collaborate with the Substance Abuse Research Team (SART), through the Secretaries of the various State Governments to fight the scourge.

“The Forum reiterated its support for the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and urged it to fast-track the process of development of a Masterplan for its activities within the Sub-region.

“It also enjoined the Commission to work closely with the State Governments on areas of intervention. This would aid priority identification, close the needs gap and support project implementation,” the Communique states in part.

The Forum also considered the prospect for oil exploration in the region and resolved to have specialized institutions to provide the required local contents in the Oil and Gas industry just as it commended the Bauchi and Gombe State Governments for establishing the Oil and Gas Academy for Human Capital Development.

The 4th meeting of the NEGF which was presided over byits Chairman, Professor Babagani Umara Zulum, who is the Governor of Borno state, adjourned to reconvene on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in Janlingo, Taraba State.