The North East Governors’ Forum rose from its 6th meeting in Damaturu, Yobe State with a call for the establishment of a sustainable programme for the handling of the repentant terrorists.
This was as the Forum vowed to undertake necessary measures aimed at curtailing kidnapping and farmer-herder clashes which it described as worrisome.
The meeting which was attended by Governors of Borno, Gombe and Yobe and the Deputy Governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, and Taraba States noted the significant improvement in the security situation in the North East sub-region as evidenced by the mass surrender of Boko Haram fighters and commended the Federal Government for its various initiatives towards stabilising the sub region.
The Forum in a communique signed by its chairman and Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, and read by Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, noted with dismay the near one year lack of electricity in Maiduguri and its environs.
The Forum deliberated on a presentation by the Hon. Minister of Power on planned and on-going Power Projects in the North East which highlighted the challenges of steady power supply to the sub-region and It therefore urged the Federal Government to urgently find a lasting solution to the issue of electricity just as it raised concerns over the non-commissioning of the Dadin Kowa and Kashimbila hydro-power plants which is stalling development of the sub-region.
The Forum also appealed to the Federal Government to increase its investments in the sub-region to guarantee peace and economic prosperity.
The Forum which deliberated extensively on the Mambilla Hydroelectric project, called on the National Assembly and the Federal Government to make adequate budgetary provision in the 2022 appropriation bill for the implementation of the project.
While recognizing that the 2022 budget is in its final stages, the Forum called on the National Assembly to look critically at the sub-region with a view to ensuring that adequate budgetary provisions are made for all major capital projects in the sub-region.
The Forum agreed to have its next meeting from March 9th to 11th, 2022 at Gombe, Gombe State.
