By Salihu Inusa, Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno and Chairman North East Governors Forum (NEGF) has called on the governors of Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Yobe to redeem their pledges to actualize the establishment of N/East Air Shuttle.
He said, the establishment of the North-East Air Shuttle is a significant step towards improving connectivity within the sub-region, to this end, the Borno State Government has contributed N10.8 billion, while Gombe State Government has contributed N5 billion, totaling N15,800,000,000.00.
Zulum stated this in his welcome address at the opening of the 13th NEGF meeting which took place in Maiduguri on Saturday.
In attendance were three governors of Gombe, Adamawa and Borno, while Yobe and Bauchi states were represented by their respective Deputy Governors, leaving Taraba state without the Governor nor his Deputy.
Zulum’s said, “I am therefore calling on all member States of Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Yobe to redeem their share of contribution.
On Oil Exploration, $1 Billion Poverty Fund, and Security Gains
Beyond the regional aviation framework, Mr Zulum highlighted key Federal Government interventions and economic initiatives aimed at driving recovery in the conflict-affected region.
The Forum chairman commended President Bola Tinubu for reviving oil exploration activities at the Kolmani oilfield in Bauchi State. He noted that the project extends beyond oil and gas investments, offering a path toward job creation, infrastructure development, and an expanded revenue base for host communities.
Zulum further urged the Federal Government to extend exploration efforts into other prospective locations across the region, particularly the Bama, Monguno, and Lake Chad Basin areas of Borno State.
He lauded the Federal Government’s $1 billion Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project earmarked for the North-East, describing the project as crucial for a region recovering from over a decade of insurgency, displacement, and humanitarian dependency.
“Our objective must now be to move deliberately from relief to recovery, and from recovery to sustainable prosperity,”he stressed.
Also in his address, the Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, NGF and Governor of Gombe state, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya expressed his deep gratitude to Almighty Allah to enable him join the meeting, which he thanked governor Zulum, and the good people of Borno State for the warm hospitality extended to the particpanys in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Yahaya said, the meeting carries a special significance, as it is very likely the last time they meet as a Forum before the 2027 general elections.
He dwelt at length on the giant strides in security, social and economic development that the states have achieved within the period.
Continuing he said: “I make bold to say that this Forum has helped change how the nation and our partners see the North-East. The conversation has moved beyond emergency humanitarian relief towards recovery, resettlement, stabilisation and long-term development.
“But we must be honest with ourselves and with our people. The challenges we set out to confront in 2020 have not gone away.
“Boko Haram has been weakened but not defeated, and we still see attacks on our communities. Banditry and communal clashes are emerging as new threats. Many of our displaced citizens are still waiting to return home in safety and dignity. The Mambilla hydropower project, the railway connection to our region, and broadband infrastructure remain unrealised. The Kolmani exploration project holds great promise, but that promise must become production, jobs and revenue. Our solid minerals must be mined legally and for the benefit of our people, not to fund criminality. Too many of our children are still out of school, and our health indicators remain among the weakest in the country.
“To speak plainly, our next task is to turn political agreement into measurable results. We must close the gap between the resolutions we adopt and the outcomes our people can see and feel. I therefore welcome the proposals before this meeting: a results and delivery unit within the Secretariat, a dashboard to track federal infrastructure commitments, a regional power master plan, a stronger security and intelligence framework, and a focused set of flagship projects we can deliver and hand over.
“The North-East does not stand alone. Across the nineteen northern states, our people face a similar set of interconnected problems. There is insecurity, from insurgency in the North-East to banditry in the North-West and farmer-herder conflicts in the North-Central. There is a large burden of out-of-school children, high poverty and unemployment, the effects of climate change and desertification, and an infrastructure deficit that holds back trade and investment.
“These problems feed each other. No state, and no sub-region, can defeat them alone. That is why the experience of the NEGF matters to the whole of the North, and why the Northern States Governors’ Forum is reforming itself to support the work of sub-regional platforms like this one.
“We are restructuring the NSGF and strengthening its institutions. The aim is a Forum with the technical capacity, coordination and follow-through to turn the collective decisions of nineteen governors into results.
“We are establishing the Northern Nigeria Security Trust Fund. It will provide a sustainable, pooled source of support for security and peacebuilding across the region, complementing the efforts of federal security agencies and our state structures. We are reforming the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) so that it can once again drive investment, enterprise and economic development across the North, in line with the vision of its founders.
“These reforms are not meant to replace sub-regional forums like the NEGF. They are meant to strengthen them. The NEGF understands the specific realities of the North-East. The NSGF can provide scale, pooled resources and a united northern voice at the national level. Working together, the two can achieve far more than either could alone.
“I would like to commend our Chairman, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, and my brother Governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba and Yobe States for their commitment to the welfare of our people and to the unity of this Forum. You have consistently placed the interest of the North-East above politics and personal considerations, and history will remember that.
” I also commend the Secretaries to the State Governments, the Technical Working Committee, the Technical Working Group, and the NEGF Secretariat under its Director-General, for their dedication and hard work. You carry our decisions forward between meetings, keep records, track commitments and remind us of our promises. This Forum stands on your shoulders.
“As our tenure draws to a close, and as we prepare to hand over in five of our six states, I want to speak to those who will succeed us. What we are handing over is not a finished project. It is a working platform, a tradition of cooperation, and an agenda that still needs completion. Our hope is that the next generation of leaders will protect this unity, build on what we started, and show even stronger commitment to peace, prosperity and development in the North-East.
“The past six-and-a-half years have proved that the Governors of this region can come together and agree. The years ahead must prove what our six states, working together, can achieve for our people”, the Gombe Governor explained.
