Constitute North-East Rehabilitation Committee -- Senate Tells Buhari

Senate President Bukola Saraki

The Senate on Wednesday passed a motion seeking the establishment of a presidential intervention committee on the rehabilitation of the North-East geopolitical zone which is currently being ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.


The motion was sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party member representing Rivers East Senatorial District, Senator George Sekibo, and 35 other senators from both the PDP and the All Progressives Congress, across the six geopolitical zones.

The senate asked Buhari to do everything possible within his powers as provided by the constitution to eradicate the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

While condemning the continued assault on the people of the North-East zone and other parts of the country by the Boko Haram elements, the Senate also directed its committee on Special Duties to monitor welfare of internally displaced persons across the country.

The senate also resolved that the senate president should lead a delegation of the upper chamber to visit the IDPs in Maiduguri, while at the same time commend the military personnel currently fighting insurgency in the North-East.

Sekibo, the sponsor of the motion, had noted with dismay, the infrastructural damages caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East zone of the country, especially in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

He explained that since the inception of insurgency in the region, several government institutions, such as educational and health as well as the police, the customs, the immigration and military barracks have been completely destroyed with no offices and facilities for use by the institutions affected.

Sekibo said, “Thousands of personal buildings and properties, social amenities and infrastructure, such as electricity, and telephone services have been destroyed in many parts of the zone.

“The livelihood of many indigenes of the area have been disrupted such that majority of the people are either in Internally Displaced Persons camps or are helplessly roaming the streets without any hope for their future.”

He noted that as a war torn area, the affected people have no one to go to for support of any kind.

He said a situation where people were kept without hope for a future would encourage them to give up themselves as recruits of Boko Haram.

He also expressed worry that the government’s inability to rehabilitate and rebuild infrastructure of areas that have been taken back from the insurgents is a strong sign of disintegration.

Senators Nelson Effiong, Shehu Sanni and Sola Adeyeye argued that any rehabilitation of the North-East, without first winning the insurgency battle, would be a waste of time because the Boko Haram activities has been spreading even beyond the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

Senator Ben Bruce called for a deliberate strategy to reduce cost of governance so that there would be adequate funds to execute the various rehabilitation and reconstruction of social infrastructure destroyed by the insurgents.

Senators Godswill Akpabio and Samuel Anyanwu, noted with dismay the rising cases of Boko Haram attacks in recent times and urged the relevant agencies to expedite action to end the menace.

Saraki, while rounding off the debate, pledged that the Senate would complement the efforts of Buhari to actualise his campaign promise to guarantee security and welfare of Nigerians.

He also expressed optimism that the newly appointed service chiefs, given the right opportunity to perform, would route out terrorism within the shortest time possible.