The Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, has detailed the state’s immediate, short and long-term plans for the stabilisation and development of the state. He has also highlighted how the state is responding to the mass surrender of over 35,000 repentant Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorist groups operating in the North-East.
The governor, on Tuesday, said this when addressing multinational countries along the Lake Chad Basins and development partners from the United Kingdom and other countries, during an ongoing conference being hosted by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
This was made known on Tuesday in a statement signed by the spokesperson for the governor, Isa Gusau.
In the statement, Isa Gusau said the conference, which is tagged “Lake Chad Basin: Key Steps Towards Comprehensive Regional Solutions with focus on how to effectively manage mass surrenders by Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters through Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration” began on Monday and is taking place at Wilton Park, located at Winston House in Sussex, United Kingdom.
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The conference is being facilitated by the Lake Chad Basin Regional Strategy for Stabilisation Recovery and Resilience which provides framework for conflict interventions by development partners.
According to Isa Gusau, Zulum, on the second day, delivered a keynote address titled “Insurgency, Recovery, and Rebuilding Borno State: My aspirations for Borno State and Lake Chad Region.”
“The governor discussed recent efforts by the Nigerian Government with President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of a Presidential Committee on Repatriation, Return and Resettlement of Displaced Persons in the North-East, which has been tasked with resettling IDPs, supporting successful repatriation of over 190,000 Nigerian refugees, and managing mass surrender of insurgents,” the statement read.
Zulum gave a detailed overview which highlighted impacts of the insurgency in Borno State in terms of infrastructural destructions, displacements, humanitarian crisis and resettlement efforts.
The Governor’s Adviser and Coordinator, Sustainable Development, Partnerships and Humanitarian Support, Dr. Mairo Mandara, made presentations at a session during the conference.
Other speakers from different countries shared experiences and knowledge peculiar to communities in countries of the Lake Chad.
Participants for the conference are drawn from the military, managers of violent extremist groups, political leaders, the academia, humanitarian and development partners, diplomats, communication persons, and post-conflict management experts from the UK and other developed countries as well as countries in the Lake Chad: Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The conference is scheduled to end on Wednesday with key takeaways and next steps to be reached for considerable implementation by stakeholders towards stabilising communities affected in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Governor Zulum was at the conference alongside the state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Zuwaira Gambo, and the Special Adviser on Security, Brigadier General Abdullahi Ishaq, both of whom have been playing leading roles in managing Borno’s responses to the mass surrender of Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters. Both officials made useful contributions at the conference.
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