Aisha Buhari, Others Back North East Dev’t Commission
Mrs Buhari’s position was contained in a memorandum she personally presented at a public hearing on a Bill to establish the North-East Development Commission organised by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees and North-East Initiatives in Abuja yesterday.
For its part, the Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lamin, said the state government was in support of the establishment of NEDC, advising that the commission’s headquarters be cited at the state capital, Damaturu.
Lamin said Damaturu was more suitable for the NEDC headquarters as it is more central for administrative purposes than the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, as being championed by some stakeholders.
“Damaturu, the state capital, also enjoys a central location and therefore is most suited for the administrative convenience and easy coordination of activities across the states in the region.
“Yobe State with headquarters in Damaturu has minimal federal presence in terms of provision of infrastructure and socio-economic development compared to the older states like Adamawa, Bauchi, and Borno.
“These three states in addition to Gombe and Taraba have benefited from citing of federal projects like airports, river basin development projects, dams, zonal offices of federal departments and agencies, including zonal commands of the Nigeria Police, Immigration, Customs, Prisons Service, Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Boundary Commission etc with virtually none in Yobe State, which negates the principles of federal character,” Lamin said.
Earlier, Speaker Yakubu Dogara while declaring the public hearing open said the aspirations for the establishment of the commission were because “the North East suffers an exceptional poverty amidst little opportunities.
Post a Comment