The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has budgeted $6.7 billion to rebuild the war-ravaged Northeast region of the country in the next four years.
The commission noted that the money will also be spent on peace building and developmental projects across the six states in the region.
This was contained in the master plan of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) for the next four years.
The managing director and chief executive officer of the NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, disclosed this during the unveiling of the region’s Master Plan in Abuja yesterday, at a consultative meeting with stakeholders and security agencies.
Alkali said the commission planned to completely remove Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region by 2030.
He said the draft master plan would be sent to the federal government for approval after inputs from stakeholders.
Alkali said the commission also plans to reduce the number of attacks and insurgencies in the region by 60 per cent in the next eight years.
According to the draft master plan, it is expected that 70 per cent of the population within the school-age will be enrolled in school while those in employment age will be in economically-productive activity.
These are some of the targets of the 10-year plan of the region entitled, “Northeast Stability and Development Master Plan.”
Also, the Borno State governor Prof Babagana Zulum urged state governors in the region to work together towards the actualisation of the plan.
Zulum said: “To address the challenge of increasing poverty, infrastructural deficit, and that of climate vulnerabilities, we have to have a strong master plan that will be sustainable.”
He also urged other governors of the region to be interested in the implementation of the plan.
Minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, said though the master plan is at the draft stage, different recovery projects are ongoing in the Northeast towards rebuilding the region.
“Despite being in the process of developing the Master Plan, I am pleased to state the NEDC has not been static and continues to leave its footprints across all the North East states with life-changing projects and programmes for our citizens,” she said.
The minister also urged stakeholders to speed up action towards the actualisation of the master plan.
