The governor, who made the demand known in a paper which he is expected to deliver today at Day-Two of a conference organised by the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), asserted that the current insurgency was the direct outcome of the inequality in oil revenue distribution.
The governor, at the conference which has the theme, 'Post-2015 Elections Conference on Security and Governance Challenges in Africa's Largest Democracy', urged the incoming All Progressive Congress (APC) government to immediately recommend the allocation of at least 13 % of revenue derived from petroleum resources in addition to the usual monthly location to the states in north eastern Nigeria to ameliorate their plight.
The governor's position was contained in a paper entitled 'Holistic Approach for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the North East Nigeria Region Ravaged by Terrorism and Insurgency: The National and International Policy Options/Perspectives', which is to be delivered at the event by his representative and secretary, Borno Elders Forum, Dr Bulama Mala Gubio, expressed regret that the petroleum deposit in the North East had been left untapped.
Governor Shettima also called for the establishment of a special intervention programme to salvage the region from socio-economic deprivation on the one hand and environmental degradation on the other, which, he said, would lead to desertification and drought with their consequent imbalance in ecological dynamics.
"Importantly, it is necessary for the federal government to recommend the allocation of at least 13 % of revenue derived from petroleum resources in addition to the usual monthly allocation to states in north eastern Nigeria in order to improve equity in the share of resources. Moreover, there is untapped petroleum in the North East. This will go a long way in improving national security, since inequality in the allocation of resources is one of the most significant factors in the current raging insurgency affecting the region and threatening to engulf the outside world.
"Therefore, we are calling for the establishment of a special intervention programme to salvage the region from socio-economic deprivation on one hand and environmental degradation on the other hand which leads to desertification and droughts with the consequent imbalance in ecological dynamics. It is our firm belief that this will go a long way to address the current socio-economic upheavals experienced in the region," he noted.
Shettima lamented that the North East region, particularly Borno State, was facing dire environmental and humanitarian crises requiring urgent intervention and stressed that such intervention would include rehabilitation, stabilization and re-integration of the victims to normal life, re-building of broken down infrastructures, as well as re-integrating the insurgents back to normal society through proper education and debriefing.
The governor, in the paper, called on Nigerians to join hands to rebuild the region, noting that, at the moment, the states of the region were facing their fate alone.
Shettima called on the SCDDD to highlight the plight of the states of the region to the world with a view to eliciting assistance.
…APC's victory laid June 12 ghost to rest – Kingibe
Meanwhile, chairman of the conference, and former vice presidential candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) which won the annulled June 12, 1992, presidential election, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, in his opening remarks, said APC's victory over the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April general election had finally laid the ghost of the annulled June 12 election to rest.
According to Kingibe, Nigerians who were already fed up with the misrule and non-performance of the PDP spoke in one voice and acted in unity to remove the party from power.
"In Nigeria, we are living in the very exciting, challenging and interesting times. The divisiveness was an effort made by the political party but it was rejected by Nigerians and the other party that resolved not react accordingly. Efforts at dividing our people will not succeed. People are united in requesting democracy and freedom.
"For me, for the first time since 1992, perhaps Nigerians have purged themselves of the ghost of June 12. Several paradigms manifested. Perhaps now, the ghost of June 12 can rest due to the effort made by all through these years of trials and tribulations," he said.
Keynote speaker at the event, Major-General Ishola Williams (retd) called for the scrapping of the appellations of 'Excellency', 'distinguished' and 'honourable' ascribed to elected officials and other public servants, saying that most of those officials do not merit the titles.
According to him, Nigerian remains one the poorest countries in the world yet most of the officials live in opulence.
While lamenting the neglect of huge volumes of reports, whitepapers and other documents, he said, should aid government to improve the socio economic situation of the people, he called on the incoming government to immediately dust and implement them.
Chairman and Founder of SCDDD, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, pointed out that the general goal and objectives of the two-day event was to interface with representatives of the international community in Nigeria, leading Nigerian scholars, media experts, party leaders, researchers in the fields of defence, security, extremism and terrorism, economic and political governance, international monetary and financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders, to debate on strategies that would best address issues of security and governance in Nigeria and her immediate neighbours, the sub-region and Africa.
The event attracted highly influential Nigerians and members of the diplomatic community who played various roles in ensuring that the last general election was peaceful, free, fair and transparent.
posted by festus
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