The United States on Tuesday promised to support Northern Nigeria in the areas of education, health care and energy.
The US Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, made the commitment at a meeting with five state governors from the North at the Presidential Villa, Abuja shortly after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governors he met included Muhammed Abubakar (Bauchi); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); Kashim Shettima (Borno) and the deputy governor of Benue State.
The four governors briefed State House correspondents of the meeting’s outcome.
They said the meeting which they described as fruitful was based on areas of enhancing the wellbeing of the people and ensuring stability in the country.
When asked if there were specific commitments made by Kerry, Tambuwal said, “In specific terms, I can say that there are commitments specifically on education with particular emphasis on girl-child education, commitment on health care and renewable energy.
“On renewable energy, we talked on the programme of President Obama and on Power Africa and overseas private investment operations, interventions in funding renewable energy projects across the North in particular, namely solar energy and wind energy.”
Shettima also said the governors and Kerry discussed the Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges in Northern Nigeria.
He observed that underneath Boko Haram is extreme poverty, hence the need for job creation, gender empowerment, support for health facilities and provision of adequate power.
He however admitted that nobody can solve the nation’s problem for Nigerians, saying the nation will have to hold its destiny in its hands.
“We are pleased by the commitment displayed by Kerry. We are pleased with the outcome of the meeting,” the governor said.
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