* Says region neglected for 15 years due to Boko Haram activities

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

Former Senate Leader and Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has called on the Federal Government to initiate Special Presidential Priority Projects in the North-east region.

He said doing so would enable the authorities to tackle decades-long infrastructural decay exacerbated by insurgency.

Ndume made the call in a statement Friday in Abuja, following the recent visit of North-east governors to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.

The senator, while commending the North-east Governors Forum led by Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, described the region as “comatose” after over 15 years of insecurity-driven neglect. 

He, therefore, urged President Tinubu to reflect the region’s pressing developmental needs in both the 2025 Supplementary Budget and the 2026 Appropriation Bill.

Ndume said: “Fifteen years down the line, there hasn’t been any meaningful infrastructural development in the North-east as it has been ravaged by insurgents.

“Now that the insurgents have receded due to the efforts of our military who have regained lost grounds, contractors can now move to sites. 

“It is time for the Federal Government to give urgent and focused attention to the region.”

During the governors’ meeting with President Tinubu on Wednesday, Governor Zulum presented a list of 17 critical road and rail projects that have been abandoned for decades. 

These included the Kano–Maiduguri Road; the Port Harcourt–Jos–Bauchi–Maiduguri Railway; the Bama–Mubi–Yola Road; the Wukari–Jalingo–Yola Road and the Duguri–Mansur Road (currently an ongoing NNPC project).

They also included the Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Damaturu Road; the Damaturu–Geidam Road; the Bauchi–Ningi–Nasaru–Babaldo Road and  the Gombe–Potiskum Road.

Others are the Damaturu–Biu Road; the Alkaleri–Futuk Road; the Maiduguri–Damboa–Yola Road; the Gombe–Dukku–Darazo Road; the Biu–Gombe Road; the Ibi–Shamdam Road; the Maiduguri–Monguno–Baga Road; and the Maiduguri–Ngala–Bama–Banki Road.

The governors also appealed for the resumption of oil exploration activities in the Kolmani and Lake Chad basins, which are considered critical to unlocking the region’s economic potential.

Ndume, in the statement, stressed that the proposed Special Presidential Priority Projects should not be treated as routine capital works.

Rather, he said, they should be taken as strategic national interventions that demand dedicated funding and oversight due to their urgency and importance.

He further charged the North-east Governors Forum not to relent in advancing initiatives that would uplift the quality of life for citizens in the region.

He noted that renewed infrastructural development would not only revitalize economic activities but also consolidate the gains made in security.

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