Northeast governors meet over Insurgency, Kidnapping

Governors of the Northeast on Thursday met in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, with insurgency and kidnapping topping the list in their agenda.

This was evident in speeches delivered by host Governor Ahmadu Fintiri who called on his colleagues to rally against issues that set the subregion back, including kidnapping.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the forum, Fintiri also appealed to his colleagues to save the region from low rating indicators.

He spoke on the need to work for emptying of camps currently occupied by internally displaced persons (IDPs) through an intensified fight against insurgency.

He called for collaborative effort against kidnapping in the region to allow people farmers work without fear of being kidnapped.

“There is so much we can achieve if we work together,” Fintiri concluded.

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State who attended the meeting as Chairman of the North East Governor’s Forum identified insecurity as the most alarming common concern in the region.

“The most worrisome challenge confronting us remains the daunting issue of insecurity which has been causing excruciating loss of lives and property in the subregion.

“And the most devastating security challenge is the seemingly unending Boko Haram phenomenon which has a destructive effect on the socio-economic life of our people and which has inevitably displaced hundreds of thousands of people from across the North East,” Governor Zulum said.

He, like host Governor Fintiri, expressed the belief that together, the region’s common problems could be tackled if approached collectively.