Eight governors within the Lake Chad Basin, on Monday, met in Yaounde, Cameroon where they discussed insurgency and regional security cooperation.
Organised by the Lake Chad Basin Commission, with technical support from the African Union, United Nations Development Programme and Crisis Management Initiative, the meeting was hosted by the Cameroonian government in collaboration with the Lake Chad Governors’ Forum.
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The governors are Babagana Zulum of Borno, Nigeria; Issa Lamine of Diffa in Niger Republic; Midjiyawa Bakari of Far North of Cameroon; Abate Edii Jean of North Region of Cameroon; Mahamat Fadoul Mackaye from Lac Province of Chad, and Amina Kodjyana Agnes-Hadjer Lami also from Chad.
The governors of Adamawa and Yobe states in North East Nigeria were represented.
A statement by the special adviser to Zulum, Malam Isa Gusau, said the meeting, which was declared open by the Cameroonian Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, accompanied by the Mayor of Younde, Mr Luc Messi Atangana, discussed security issues with focus on terror attacks and humanitarian impacts in the region.
The governor expressed concern over the non-utilization of Lake Chad Basin’s shore which, he noted, could provide huge economic potentials to the region.
Borno, he said, was making effort towards establishing free trade zones in Banki town, Bama LGA; Gamboru in Ngala; Baga in Kukawa and Damasak in Mobbar LGA, to enhance socio-economic activities within the Lake Chad Region in line with territorial action plans for stabilisation.