By Ayinde Olaide Abdulsaheed
Bauchi – The Bauchi state government on Friday pledged to partner with North-East Development Commission (NEDC) in its effort at rehabilitating the sub-region following damages caused by insurgency.
The state governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed made the pledge on behalf of the government in Bauchi on Friday when Chairman of the Commission, Gen. Paul,Tarfa,(Rtd) paid him a courtesy visit.
“We want the commission to know that we may not be at the centre of war but we are bearing the brunt of war called crisis.
“We will come up with comprehensive indexes and statistics to guide the commission;we are ready to support you with whatever we have; pertaining the land you requested , consider it given because you are here to give us assistance.
“Please consider us a willing partner, a willing tool in this collective responsibility of impacting positively to the growth and development of the region”, Mohammed said.
The Governor ,who revealed that the state had over two million IDPs in the state, some of whom had been integrated into communities, called on the commission to help look into their education and healthcare services.
“We have over two million IDPs in the state, some of them had been integrated; our IDPs are not those wallowing in deprivation.
“They have their homes, they have their houses, what they do not have is education, health services and other social amenities,” said the governor.
Earlier in his remarks, chairman of the commission, Gen. Tarfa (Rtd), said over 10 years of Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East had led to the loss of over twenty thousand lives and displacement of over two million people.
He observed that Bauchi state was a critical stakeholder in the region, currently hosting a lot of IDPs, adding that the commission visited the state to introduce itself and request for a piece of land to build office.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Northeast-East Development Establishment Act was signed into Law by President Muhammadu Buhari on 26th of October 2017.
NAN also reports that the mandate of the commission is to receive and manage funds allocated by Federal Government and international donors for the resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads, houses and business premises of victims of the insurgency and terrorism in the North-East sub-region.
The commission is also to tackle the menace of poverty, illiteracy, ecological problems and other developmental challenges in the North-East states.