By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill into law.
Atiku, in a press statement signed by his media office on Friday, described the conception of the bill as an important initiative of the National Assembly.â€
The Waziri Adamawa explained that owing to the humanitarian crises in the North-East region brought about by the Boko Haram menace, anybody with empathy would appreciate the necessity of such development commission at this time.
According to him, the North-East had suffered the greatest economic and social devastation on account of Boko Haram terrorism that has been ravaging the region since 2010.
Atiku, whose American University of Nigeria (AUN) has been at the fore-front to containing the humanitarian problems in the North-East, said he was personally touched and devastated by the large scale damage caused to education by terrorist attacks, which led to alarming number of out-of-school children in the area.
Atiku added that “the Boko Haram terrorists have also disrupted social and economic life of our people.â€
He noted that, because of terrorism, farming activities which largely accounted for people’s sources of livelihood, have been brought to a halt, thereby forcing the victims to depend on humanitarian aid for survival.
Against this background, the former Vice President said President Buhari and the National Assembly deserved commendation for what he called this “significant initiative.”
He, however, noted that the success of the Commission would depend largely on the patriotism, commitment and selflessness of those to be appointed to manage the implementation of its set objective.
