North East Lost $9 billion To Insurgency, Says Governor Shettima

The Governor of Borno State and Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, (NGF), Alhaji Kashim Shettima yesterday disclosed that properties worth over $9.6 billion have been lost in six northeast states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba and Bauchi by Boko Haram.

Shettima stated this in Abuja, yesterday when he led a delegation of Northern Leaders from the northeast zone on a thank you visit to the leadership of the 8th National Assembly over the passage of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill, said statistics has shown that federal institutions and infrastructure in the country, have all proved that of the six geo-political zones, the northeast had suffered the most neglect.

According to him, the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee established by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 and other reports like the one authored by the Chartered Institute of Project Management of Nigeria, all came to the conclusion that the northeast suffered the least attention from successive Federal administrations in Nigeria.

He said:” In the northeast alone, destruction worth $9.6 billion dollars were inflicted on us from Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba and Bauchi. Just to give you simple statistics; in Borno we suffered destruction worth $6.7 billion dollars.

“Out of it 956,453 units of houses making 30 per cent of the total sum of houses in Borno were destroyed. 5,335 classrooms in 501 primary school, 38 secondary schools and 2 tertiary institutions of learning were destroyed.

“201 primary healthcare centres and hospitals were destroyed. 650 municipal buildings including police stations, power plants and all the local government structures were destroyed and this is just a tip of the iceberg.”

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Yakubu Dogara said with the taming of terrorism in the northeast has made other parts of the country to be safer.

In his remarks, Senate President, Bukola Saraki noted that the Bill had already been transmitted to the President for assent, while assuring the northern leaders of the President’s assent to the bill.

Those on the entourage of the governor include the Governor of Adamawa State, Alhaji Muhammed Umaru Jibrilla, Royal Father’s from the northeast.