By Salisu Sani-Idris
The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday emphasised the need for re-engineering and re-strategising of affairs in the North with a view to fast tracking development.
Shettima stated this when he receive a Coalition of Northern States’ Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (CONSCCIMA) led by its President, Malam Dalhatu Abubakar, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said: ” We have to go back to the drawing board, re-assess the state of affairs in the North and come up with robust platforms of re-engineering our society.
” It is imperative for the North to embark on the re-strategizing and re-engineering of the region in order to reposition it for accelerated development.
” 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.”
Shetima 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 Federal Government.
He observed that any society that sought to achieve economic development must cultivate peace and stability.
“There can never be development without peace and there can never be peace without development,” the vice president said.
Shettima extolled 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.
He added: ” Especially in the North-west through the Pulaku initiative. 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 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.”
Earlier, Abubakar expressed the readiness of the organisation to seek partnership with the Federal Government towards the revitalisation of the economy in the north.
He highlighted some projects that could help to galvanise the economy of the North to include the revival of moribound industries and setting up of new ones.
He also stressed the need for the establishment of pharmaceutical industries, establishment of modular refineries; recharging of the Lake Chad; completion of Mambila Power and other Power projects. (NAN)
