Saraki visits Maiduguri ‘to give hope’ to the northeast

Bukola Saraki, senate president, on Monday led a delegation of lawmakers to Maiduguri, Borno state for a firsthand assessment of the state of things in the state.

The senate president said the visit was to give hope to the people of the region, adding that the senate would not abandon them.

“Mission of our visit to the northeast is simple, to give hope and to let the people of the northeast know that the Nigerian Senate will not abandon them,” he said through his Twitter handle.
This is Saraki’s first official visit to the state. Among the places he visited include internally-displaced-persons camps, and the Borno state house.

The visit followed last Wednesday’s resolution of the senate to set up a high-powered delegation of lawmakers to visit the state.

In a motion moved by Ali Ndume, senate leader, and seconded by Godswill Akpabio, senate minority leader, the lawmaker had urged the senate to take a journey to the northeast to have a firsthand experience of the situation of things in the region.

Saraki then put the motion to a voice vote, to which the lawmakers chorused “Aye” in agreement.

The senate had also condemned the continual assault on the people of the northeast and other parts of the country by Boko Haram. It urged President Muhammadu Buhari to establish‎ a presidential intervention committee on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the zone.