North-East Governors Suggest Tripartite Approach To Handle Boko Haram Victims

Governors of north-eastern states on Tuesday suggested a tripartite approach to handling victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The governors rose from an emergency meeting held at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, to request that the Federal Government and the nation’s development partners expedite action towards the resettlement and reintegration of victims of the insurgency.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues after the meeting, the Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, said, “We agreed that the North-East Regional Development Plan Committee should liaise with DFID to establish an institutional frame work for the region.”

The governors suggested that apart from what the various state governments were doing on their own for themselves and the assistance they were rendering to one another, it would help for the Federal Government and development partners to increase their tempo of activities.

Dankwambo further explained that he and his colleagues approved that the regional committee should engage and explore areas of cooperation with international development partners and governors of the six states in the zone.

The governors had also received the report of the North-East Transformation Strategy, tagged; “Development Agenda” which is a follow-up to the last year’s North-East Economic Forum.

They also approved the setting up of a secretariat in Bauchi State and a liaison office in Abuja.

The governors, who announced plans to see the President on the matter soon, also appealed to the Federal Government to accord the challenges facing the North-East top priority in order to restore the region’s economy which has been ravaged by the activities of the insurgents.