President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigerians in the North-East will, in the coming months, be saved from the atrocities of bandits and terrorists ravaging the region.

The president stated this at the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Return and Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East, which preceded the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

According to him, the administration is embarking on a revised approach to addressing the 13-year conflict and insurgency in the region and will not relent in efforts towards a return to peace and normalcy.

He said, “At the advent of this administration in 2015, I pledged to Nigerians that I will restore peace in the North-East and return it to the path of development and growth. I remain committed to this promise.”

He added, “I pledge to you that in the coming months, you will begin to witness a shift away from a protracted insurgency to peace-building, stabilisation, and ultimately development in your respective communities as we embark on a revised approach to addressing this conflict- a return to normalcy.”

According to the president, the committee, among other things, is expected to develop a three-year action plan by the end of March 2022 that incorporates national and state-level plans, providing a clear pathway for the restoration of peace and development in the North-East.

“The committee is also saddled with the responsibility of strengthening collaboration with key donors, development partners and private sector organisations that are critical to the mobilisation of resources and implementation of programmes,” the president further explained.

Buhari charged the committee members to adopt the guiding principles of accountability, delineation of duty and community-driven methods to address issues.

The president directed the committee to submit a monthly progress report while the first progress review meeting would be in the first week of March.

“Failure to deliver on this task you have been assigned is not an option,” he told them.

Members of the committee are the finance, justice, humanitarian affairs, interior, foreign affairs and defence ministers. Others are the national security adviser, inspector general of police, defence chief, NIA and SSS director-generals. The committee also has the North-East Development Commission DG, the National Commission for Refugees federal commissioner, DGs of the Migrants & Internally Displaced Persons, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the chief of defence intelligence.

(NAN)