President
Muhammadu Buhari Monday had separate close-door meetings with three
northern governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja....
The governors are Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe state, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state and Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa state.
Speaking
to State House correspondents after the meeting, Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe
state said he briefed the President on the situation of the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other issues in the state.
He
said the state is currently faced with the challenge of reintegrating
insurgency victims and reconstructing areas destroyed in the heat of the
Boko Haram attacks.
He
said the state was seeking federal government’s assistance in the area
of reconstruction and rehabilitation of some infrastructure destroyed by
the terrorists.
“In
terms of reconstruction, rehabilitation, although there is the
Presidential Committee in the North East, they are doing their best but
they need to do more. That is what I told Mr. President. Some of our
people lost their livelihood, their farms, homes etc.
“They
need to be given some amount of money or the Federal Government through
the Presidential Committee may assist them to reconstruct or rebuild
their houses so that they can start their normal lives,” he said.
Asked
how much support has the Presidential initiative so far given, the
governor said: “We have not received a kobo in terms of cash but in
terms of materials, food and non food items, we have been receiving a
lot which I can not tell you precisely in a quantified form here, we
have received enough. But during the last administration, Yobe state
took care of the Joint Task Force which is a combination of the
military, the SSS, the Police, the Mobile Police who were carrying out
the war against the insurgency. We even paid their allowances, all their
logistical needs including patrol vehicles.”
Governor
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state said he briefed the President on
developments arising from the recent meeting between Northern Governors
and their Southern counterparts and the feasibility of searching for
oil and gas in the Sokoto Basin.
He said the state has enough gas deposits which if harnessed could address the electricity supply challenges.
He
said: “I came to see our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari and we had
discussion on quite a number of issues, of specific mention is the
issue is the general well- being of the country, security situation of
the country. I am sure you are aware that recently we were in the south
east, as governors from the north went to interact with our brothers in
the south east and south south and particularly people of the North
residing there so there was a need for a feedback.
“Also
we have discussed with the President, if you remember very well
recently, I was personally at the NNPC towers where we engaged the GMD
of the NNPC on possible oil exploration in the Sokoto basin and I have
had cause to brief the president on that particular interaction.
“There
is a need for the federal government to continue to support that
endeavour which I believe will help in more provision of oil and gas
which we believe is very much in abundance in this basin but also in
bringing about agricultural revolution in that area. If you have gas it
will support the power supply which will in turn enhance and influence
agro- allied industries that are likely to come on board and also have a
positive impact economically on the lives and well- being of the people
that are along the basin. This are some of the issues we discussed with
Mr. President.”
On his part, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa state said he discussed issues on agriculture with the President.
The governor also debunked reports that lawmakers in the state were planning to impeach him.
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