Musing on the PEF-PCNI Collaborative effort at Reconstructing Nigeria’s North-East

Since 2009, the North-East region of Nigeria has been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency which has resulted in the loss of lives, and the displacement of millions of people. Over two million residents of the North-East have fled their homes and are compelled to live in Internally Displace Persons (IDP) camps located in many States and some have attained refugee status across Nigeria’s.

borders. Consequent upon the violence associated with the Boko Haram crisis, extensive damage to social, economic, health, roads and other infrastructure have been witnessed. Returning the North-East to normalcy has been one of the prime priorities of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. One of the measures adopted to restore normalcy is effective reconstruction and rehabilitation of social and physical infrastructure.

Therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari directed all agencies of the Ministry and oil and gas operators to invest massively in the reconstruction and rebuilding of the North-East of Nigeria. The directive became imperative given the relevance of the region to Nigeria’s security. Violence from the region has been taking its toll on the peaceful coexistence of the Nation.

The Petroleum Equalization Fund after careful deliberations decided to work with the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative, PCNI, now known as the North East Development Commission, NEDC, which have the statutory responsibility of leading the reconstruction and development of Nigeria’s North-East. The impact of PEF interventions is perceived across the Nation. On the assumption of office in 2016, Mr. Ahmed Abubakar Bobboi brought his wealth of experience in the industry to bear.

His administration has been able to maintain and improve good relationship with stakeholders, especially in the downstream sector which is evidenced by the smooth distribution and availability of petroleum products nationwide. As the first homegrown staff to be appointed Executive Secretary of the Agency, Mr. Bobboi has over the years, encouraged self-development, capacity building, knowledge acquisition, discipline, accountability, efficiency and etiquette for improved job performance among his members of staff which has added value to the organization.

He is completely detribalized and bears no animosity against anyone. Attributable to his perspicacious achievements, his reappointment did not come as a surprise because his diverse experience and tenacity were glaring for all to see. He wasted no time in addressing the development of fit-for-purpose manpower to handle the ever-evolving dynamics of the downstream subsector. He is aware that the industry requires some important skill-sets going forward, and as a pragmatic visionary, he embarked on strategic staff training and development exercises, locally and internationally

Jamilu Yusuf
Publisher