By Ayodele Oni
Newly formed Northwest Governors Forum is seeking the United Nations assistance for humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation of the geopolitical zone.
Northwest part of the country has been adversely affected by banditry and terrorism in recent years, causing untold hardship on the people of the area.
While announcing the formation of the forum, the governor’s had said it would enable them tackle insecurity and other challenges confronting the zone.
National Information Officer, UN Information Centre (UNIC), Oluseyi Soremekun, in a statement, said that Governors from the Northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria met with the United Nations Country Team led by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall.
According to the statement, they had asked the UN to support their states to deal with the numerous developmental challenges they face.
“The Chaiman of the Northwest Governors Forum and the Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, led other Governors in the zone, including Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani; Governor of Kano State, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf; Jigawa State Governor, Mallam Umar Namadi; Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Idris Muhammad Gobir; and Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, to the UN House Abuja.
“The Governors highlighted the major challenges faced by the region, including insecurity, multidimensional poverty, a large population of out-of-school children, increased cases of illicit drug abuse, high child and maternal mortality, and a large youth population that is unemployed.
“They indicated that nearly 80% of the population derive their livelihoods from agriculture, however, they face the challenges of land degradation and climate change which has reduced their yields. The governors also highlighted the high levels of child malnutrition.
They also committed to providing a strong political support needed to ensure UN interventions in the Northwest are implemented with speed and at scale.”
The Chairman of the Northwest Governors’ Forum was quoted in the statement to have said: “The only way we can surmount the challenges of Northwest is through a regional approach which demands that we work together in a coordinated manner.
“We need to collectively fight poverty and unemployment being the major root causes of insecurity in the region.”
The UN Resident Coordinator, on his part, expressed his delight at receiving six of the seven Governors in the zone and he assured that the United Nations family would support the Northwest region to address those development challenges.
He noted that with the varied high levels of multidimensional poverty, the sustainable development goals would only be achieved in Nigeria if the northwest got it right, and this in turn would impact positively on the African region.
“The UN in Nigeria is encouraged to see the strong leadership and commitment of Northwest Governors to improving the wellbeing of their people. We will continue to support the government and people of Northwest Nigeria.
“Together, we will rescue and accelerate the agenda 2030 for sustainable development in the region.”
