Vice President Kashim Shettima says there is a need to go back to the drawing board, re-assess the state of affairs in Northern Nigeria, to come up with robust platforms for re-engineering the region.
The Vice President stated this on Wednesday, when he received in audience a Coalition of Northern States Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, CONSCCIMA, led by its President, Dalhatu Abubakar at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him “It is imperative for the north to embark on the re-strategising and re-engineering of the region, to reposition it for accelerated development.”
The Vice President, who was speaking to the leading industrialists and agents of change from the North, stated that “most of the issues highlighted by the President of CONSCCIMA are very poignant as these are issues that touch the lives and wellbeing of our people.”
Vice President Shettima commended CONSCCIMA leadership for its commitment to the development of the north through various industrial projects that can effectively lead to development through partnership with the Nigerian Government.
Peaceful Co-existence
He said that “any society that seeks to achieve economic development must cultivate peace and stability, restating that “there can never be development without peace and there can never be peace without development.”
Pulaku Initiative
The Vice President praised President Bola Tinubu as a visionary and committed democrat for his passion to seek and achieve development through addressing the challenges of insecurity in the North especially in the North-West through the Pulaku initiative.
Explaining the initiative, he said “the Pulaku initiative is a robust solution towards addressing the challenges in the North-West. It is a solution aimed at addressing the challenges of armed banditry, kidnapping, and the situation in the North-West which cannot be divorced from the issue of governance.”
“Poor governance has a direct bearing on what we are harvesting in the North-West,” he stressed.
The leader of the delegation, Mallam Abubakar expressed the readiness of CONSCCIMA to seek partnership with the government towards the revitalisation of the economy in the North.
He highlighted some projects that can help to galvanise the economy of the North including the revival of our moribund industries and setting up of new ones; the establishment of pharmaceutical industries, the establishment of modular refineries; recharging of the Lake Chad; the completion of Mambila Power and other Power projects; acquisition of Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemicals Company.
Traditional Rulers
In a separate development, Vice President Shettima has reiterated the value of the traditional institution in the country.
Speaking to a delegation led by the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, Rtd. Justice Sidi Bage Muhamamad I, Vice President Shettima expressed gratitude to the traditional rulers, the government, and the people of Nasarawa State for their love and support to President Tinubu during the last electioneering campaign.
Acknowledging the role of the traditional rulers, he said “You are the custodian of our rich cultural heritage; the people listen to you more than us because you are the closest to the people. We appreciate you and value you because you are our link to the past.”
While urging the people of the State to be peaceful to develop, the VP said Nasarawa State is home to all the solid minerals in the country.
“If we productively utilize our solid minerals, Nasarawa can be to the North what Lagos is to the South-West and can be the engine room in this region because of its proximity to the FCT; opportunities abound more in Nasarawa State,” he said.
In the delegation that visited the Vice President were first Class Emirs, Chiefs, and other prominent sons of Nasarawa State.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
