Yobe State Governor Chairs Lake Chad Basin Commission Meeting, Underscoring Regional Cooperation for Peace and Development
Yobe State Governor Chairs Lake Chad Basin Commission Meeting, Underscoring Regional Cooperation for Peace and Development
By Hannatu Lot
His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, CON, COMN, Governor of Yobe State and Chairman of the Lake Chad Governors’ Forum, chaired his inaugural meeting with the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) at its headquarters in Ndjamena, Chad.
The meeting focused on strengthening regional collaboration to address security challenges, promote sustainable development, and build resilience in the Lake Chad Basin region.
Governor Buni emphasized the significance of the meeting, highlighting it as the first since his appointment as Chairman of the Lake Chad Governors’ Forum.
He stressed the increased responsibility this role places upon him to solidify the collective commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity within the region.
Building upon the resolutions of the fifth Lake Chad Governors’ Forum meeting held in Maiduguri, Governor Buni outlined key priorities:
Enhanced Security: The Forum reiterated the need to bolster the operational capacity of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to combat insurgency and cross-border crime. Specific actions will include: increased troop numbers, improved equipment, enhanced intelligence sharing.
Infrastructure Development: The governors emphasized the importance of deepening cross-border infrastructure development, focusing on road networks, communication systems, energy infrastructure.
Financial Mobilization: The Forum will actively pursue increased financial support through the Special Multi-Partner Delivery Fund and the Nexus Funding Facility to fund key initiatives.
Community Reintegration and Reconciliation: The Forum will expand existing programs supporting community-based reintegration and reconciliation efforts for former combatants and displaced populations. This includes vocational training, psychosocial support, conflict resolution initiatives.
Addressing Emerging Threats: The Forum recognizes the urgent need to tackle youth radicalization, illicit arms trade, and ecological degradation through youth empowerment programs, border security enhancements, environmental restoration projects].
Regional Strategy Implementation: The Forum welcomed the validation of the Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery, and Resilience (SRSRR) and pledged its support for its implementation.
This includes supporting transformative projects such as the Support Project for the Restoration of the Ecological and Economic Functions of the Lake Chad Basin, focusing on reforestation efforts, water resource management, sustainable agriculture, promoting climate resilience, environmental restoration, and sustainable livelihoods in the Lake Chad Basin region.
The Early Warning System initiative, also anchored by the LCBC, is a key element of this strategy.
The Governor expressed his commitment to work closely with the Lake Chad Basin Commission, commending the federal government for working towards achieving the ideals of the commission
Governor Buni also announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently approved the reconstruction of key roads within the region, including the Dikwa-Ngala and Bama-Banki roads, under the Dangote Tax Credit Scheme.
This infrastructure development is crucial for improving connectivity and facilitating trade and humanitarian access.
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The Governor further highlighted the Forum’s commitment to expanding reintegration programs and advocating for the reinstatement of donor support to stabilization programs, particularly in Niger Republic.
“As a forum, we are focused on expanding the reintegration programmes and advocating the reinstatement of donor support to stabilization programmes, particularly in Niger Republic. These are not just national concerns, they are regional imperatives.
” As we deepen collaboration with Lake Chad Basin Commission, I urge the Commission to continue playing its central coordination role especially in harmonizing our investment efforts and strengthening mechanisms for joint monitoring and accountability.
” Finally, as the rainy season sets in, the need for collaborative efforts to strengthen security and empower our people with agricultural inputs to facilitate agricultural production for food sufficiency and security cannot over emphasized.
Governor Buni concluded by urging the LCBC to continue its central coordination role in harmonizing investment efforts and strengthening joint monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
He emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts to improve agricultural production and ensure food security, particularly as the rainy season begins.
The Governor of N’Djamena, Amina Kodjiana, and the Executive Secretary of the LCBC, Amb. Nuhu Mamman, expressed their strong support for Governor Buni’s leadership and the Forum’s objectives.
They reaffirmed their commitment to working collaboratively to achieve regional stability and development.
