Northeast governors agree to establish regional security network similar to Amotekun

GOVERNORS from across Nigeria's northeast geo-political zone have agreed to float a regional security outfit similar to the Amotekun Corps in the southwest of the country in a desperate attempt to combat growing insecurity.

Northeast Nigeria is the epicentre of insecurity in the country as terrorist sect Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency against the federal government since 2009. This has led to Nigeria having the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world and in a bid to arrest the situation, the governors said they need a sub-regional security outfit to complement the military and other security agencies.

At the end of the fourth meeting of the North East Governors’ Forum held at the Government House’s banquet hall in Bauchi, the governors also agreed to work on education and substance abuse. Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, the chairman of the forum, said that education is the long term solution to poverty, insecurity, banditry and deprivation, so it will be given top priority.

Governor Fintiri said:“In order to aggressively reposition education in the sub-region, the governors resolved to form the North East Council on Education with the mandate to improve quality and performance of students, set up peer review and collect data to drive decision-making on education, including performance, admissions, regulatory framework, human resource management and digitalisation among others. The council would be chaired by the Bauchi State commissioner for education, Dr Aliyu Tilde.

“The forum, therefore, calls on the federal government to accord the project the desired seriousness because of its anticipated impact in turning the fortunes of the sub-region and the country at large. While recognising that the budget is already passed and signed into law, 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 build-up to the supplementary budget which is the only appropriation window to address apparent injustice in the region."

Their communique further disclosed that the governors noted with dismay the scourge of substance abuse in the sub-region. They therefore resolved to collaborate with the Substance Abuse Research Team, through the secretariats of the various state governments to fight the scourge.

In addition, the forum commended both the Bauchi and Gombe States governments for establishing an oil and gas academy for human capital development. In 2019, oil deposits were discovered in northeast Nigeria.