By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has revealed that the North Eastern states lost $6.7bn to insurgency.
He stated this during a visit to the Director-General, Nigeria Country Department of AfDB, Mr Lamin Barrow.
Zulum’s assertion was made while commending the African Development Bank (AfDB) on the implementation of its $65.75m Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme (IBSDLEIP) to ameliorate insurgency.
Currently, IBSDLEIP is being implemented in the North East States of Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba.
Zulum while speaking to Barrow in Abuja, said the root driver of insurgency in the state was hunger and the initiative focuses on providing basic amenities, that will reintegrate the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) into the society.
Zulum said: “First and foremost, I want to commend the bank on the successes so far recorded in the implementation of the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme in Borno State.
“The insurgency in Borno has triggered acute humanitarian and livelihood crises, devasting the economic activities of our populace, with the root cause to be poverty and lack of basic infrastructure.
“An outcome of the recovery and peacebuilding assessment of the impact of insurgency revealed that over 6.7 billion dollars were lost to insurgency, out of which Borno state accounted for two-thirds of the amount.
“The implementation of the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme has helped us in addressing some of the humanitarian, livelihood and infrastructural problems arising from Boko Haram Insurgency in the State”.
Zulum expressed the state’s readiness to abide by the set rules and regulations of the bank, adding that, “We are ready to abide by the project procurement processes and implementation guidelines of the bank and we are also committed to working with the bank’s team and other stakeholders to ensure the completion of the project.”
Responding, AfDB’s Director-General expressed the continued commitment of the bank to support the reintegration of the displaced population in the state and improve the livelihoods of the people.
Barrow said: “We want to commend the Governor for his visionary and hands-on leadership style. We reassure him and the state of the commitment and continued support of the bank in improving the livelihoods and quality of life of the people of Borno State.”
