The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday reiterated the determination of the Federal Government to ensure that the North-East would catch up with the rest of the regions in the country in terms of development.
Osinbajo stated this in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, during official launch of the North-East Humanitarian Innovation Hub.
Towards this end, he said government would put machinery in motion with the Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE) to ensure that property destroyed in the area were repaired while more infrastructure were provided.
According to Osinbajo, the Federal Government haddesigned the North-East Makathon to partner with private sector stakeholders and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to find innovative solutions to existing socio-economic development challenges exacerbated by insurgency in the region.
He said each federal university in all the six geo-political zones in the country were designated as innovation centres and the pilot scheme, which had commenced with the University of Lagos.
Vice-President Osinbajo tasked state governments in the North-East and other state governments in the federation to key-in into the giant developmental strides of the present administration in an effort to ensure equitable distribution of wealth and resources across the strata of the society.
He further explained that North-East Humanitarian Hub was conceived to tackle challenges of healthcare, education, employment and infrastructure, among others in the region.
Earlier, Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Martins Babale, lauded the Federal Government for the successes so far recorded in fighting insurgency.
But he was quick to remind government that a lot needed to be done in the overall recovery of the entire North-East and quick recovery of socio-economic recovery in the region.
He said economic recovery in the sub-region was of paramount importance for the displaced persons who were not only in IDPs’ camps, but across various communities to commence their various trades and agricultural activities.
Also speaking, Gambo Umar of the Presidential Initiative on the North-East, called on the Federal Government to extend the innovation being launched in Yola to other parts of the country for nationwide accelerated development.