Insecurity: UNDP backs Northeast on security, development plan to tackle insecurity
The United Nations Development Programme has pledged support for the six states of the North-East in strengthening security and developing a comprehensive regional policy framework aimed at addressing insecurity, poverty and other socio-economic challenges confronting the region.
The United Nations Development Programme has pledged support for the six states of the North-East in strengthening security and developing a comprehensive regional policy framework aimed at addressing insecurity, poverty and other socio-economic challenges confronting the region.
The commitment was made on Wednesday during a Regional Technical Workshop on the National Regional Development Policy 2026–2030 held in Maiduguri, Borno State, Arewa PUNCH reports.
Speaking at the workshop, the UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, said the organisation would continue to support the Federal Ministry of Regional Development and regional development commissions in designing inclusive policies that respond to the needs of local communities.
Attafuah, who was represented by a UNDP official, Matthew Alao, said the workshop formed part of efforts to assist the ministry in developing a robust development policy aligned with global best practices.
“As the UN, we are supporting the government in all its development efforts. Our major mandate in this area is to support the Ministry of Regional Development to develop a robust and inclusive regional development policy that will address the needs of the people,” she said.
She added that the organisation would support the North-East Development Commission in reviewing and implementing its development blueprint to ensure that it reflects the aspirations of communities across the region.
“As the Managing Director of the North-East Development Commission said, as they are recalibrating their master plan, we are also going to be there to ensure that this is inclusive in addressing the needs of the people.
“As a matter of fact, we want to make the region the safest, not only Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, but the entire six states in the region,” she stated.
Attafuah further disclosed that the UNDP would leverage its global network to attract development financing and introduce international best practices to accelerate recovery and economic growth in the region.
“We want to bring in the best practices across the world and also leverage our influence to support the regional commission to attract financing that they can use to actualise development across the region,” she added.
Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, Mary Ogbe, assured stakeholders that the proposed policy would not suffer the fate of many government programmes abandoned at the implementation stage.
“Nigeria does not lack policy, but implementation. For this policy, implementation is guaranteed,” she said.
According to her, the policy will align with the Federal Government’s development agenda and incorporate inputs from stakeholders across the country’s geopolitical zones.
“The policy seeks to address these people as a people, particularly the North-East, which is so challenged with the issue of insecurity,” Ogbe stated.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of the North East Development Commission, Mohammed Alkali, described the draft policy as a major step towards addressing regional disparities and promoting inclusive development.
He said the policy recognised the unique challenges facing the North-East, including poverty, inadequate infrastructure and the lingering effects of insurgency.
“This draft policy sets out to place our regions at the very centre of national planning and pursue balanced, inclusive and competitive development that reduces spatial inequalities and unlocks the productivity of every region,” Alkali said.
He noted that the region currently records one of the highest poverty rates in the country, with only about 42 per cent of residents having access to electricity.
Arewa PUNCH reports that for more than a decade, the North-East has faced devastating security challenges arising from the Boko Haram insurgency and related conflicts, which have claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions of residents and destroyed critical infrastructure across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
The workshop brought together officials of regional development commissions, policymakers, development partners and technical experts to review strategies for fostering sustainable development and addressing the root causes of insecurity across Nigeria’s regions.
