Danjuma-: donors yet to redeem N27b North East fund

If the N50 billion pledged for the rebuilding of the Boko Haram ravaged Northeast, N27 billion has not been redeemed, Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiative (PCNI) chairman Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), said yesterday

Gen. Danjuma spoke during the inauguration of the committee by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

The one-time defence minister thanked the private sector's contributors and urged those yet to redeem their pledges to do so since the committee is not ready to embarrass anybody although it has "the names of those that pledged".

President Buhari said the worst impact of the Boko Haram insurgency was over as he praised the armed forces for the success recorded.

He said: "Fortunately, the worst of the insurgency is behind us. This we owe principally to the valiant efforts of our military whose gallant efforts have significantly degraded the insurgency.

"With these successes, many displaced persons are willing and ready to return home to pick up their lives and move forward," he said.

The President pointed out that many of the displaced persons, sadly, do not have anything to return to.

"They have lost everything to the insurgency. In addition, social and public services are also absent due to the massive destruction of public and private infrastructure."

According to him, the government is committed to providing effective coordination and guidance towards addressing the humanitarian crisis, the resettlement and reconstruction of the region.

To achieve these, he said that his administration established the PCNI under the chairmanship of Gen. Danjuma who, he noted, is a man of proven integrity, outstanding patriotism and dedication.

Buhari said: "He will lead this committee, comprising members who have been carefully chosen from a wide spectrum of stakeholders. The Committee will be the apex coordinating body for all interventions in the region, including those by the public, private, national and international development partners.

"The committee is domiciled in the Presidency and is charged with responsibility for developing the strategy and implementation framework for rebuilding the Northeast region.

"The PCNI would not exist in perpetuity or isolation. Rather, it will exist for a period of 3 years, where after it is envisaged that a long-term regional development framework or entity may be established."

The President said that the PCNI would for now be funded through Federal, state and local government appropriation and funds from the private sector as well as international development partners.

While expressing great trust and confidence in Danjuma's team, he urged them to approach their task with dedication, commitment, accountability and transparency.

He charged the Committee to take a quick look at the conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and take urgent remedial measures to alleviate these conditions.

"I also call on all stakeholders to give the PCNI their maximum support to enable it to deliver on its mandate," he added

Buhari noted that the devastation to human lives and livelihoods by the insurgency was severe and resulted in more than an estimated 20,000 persons killed, an estimated 2.4 million persons displaced and billions of naira worth of personal and public assets destroyed.

Gen. Danjuma said: "Most of the Northeast is today in a precarious situation and is in dire need of the humanitarian support, reconstruction and peace building interventions. The resilience shown by the people of the Northeast gives hope that the task of rebuilding the region is one in which everyone has a role to play, starting from the people, the government and other critical actors, and indeed, the whole nation

"In line with terms of reference of the PCNI, we have developed the Buhari Plan, an implementation framework. The interventions contained in the Buhari Plan have been designed for targeted, integrated interventions by the federal and state governments with support from international development partners, local charities, the Nigerian and international business communities as well as other donors.

"This key character of the plan ensures leveraging of all existing capacities and making maximum use of limited resources. Most importantly, implementation, oversight and accountability for this plan will be provided directly from The Presidency through the Presidential Committee for the North East Initiative, PCNI.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal noted that the committee's inauguration was the first step towards the development of the North- East.

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