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By Ahmed Idris
Governors of the 19 northern states have agreed to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari over the unending security challenges in the region.
The chairman of the forum and Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, disclosed this on Friday when the governors met in Kaduna state.
The governors agreed to set up a joint financial institution that will galvanize rapid socio-economic development of the region and enable it attain some degree of financial independence.
Governor Shettima in his address, said the northern governors will soon meet with President Muhammadu Buhari in order to exchange ideas on how best to tackle the various security challenges that are ravaging the region.
The northern region has faced tremendous security and other socio-economic challenges in the past years which include Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast, incessant kidnapping and rural armed banditry in the north west, alleged herdsmen terrorism and communal clashes in the north central as well as high poverty and illiteracy level.
Shettima reeled out the achievements of the forum since 2015 before the governors went into a closed-door session.
He said the forum has been able to review the criminal justice system of the north that will ensure that those that get involved in crimes are adequately prosecuted, as well as initiating programmes that will impact on the economic and social well-being of the region that has been ravaged by poverty, under development and conflict over the years.
