Northern States SSGs Lament Poverty, Insecurity in Region

John Shiklam in Kaduna

Secretary to the Gombe State Government (SSG) and Chairman, Forum of Northern SSGs, Prof. Ibrahim Njodi, speaking on behalf of other SSGs in the region, yesterday lamented the industrial collapse, poverty and insecurity in the region, “despite its vast arable land with untapped mineral resources and huge population

.”
Njodi spoke in Kaduna during the inauguration of the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.
The NNDC, founded by the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, premier of the defunct Northern Region, is jointly owned by the 19 Northern states.
Njodi described the inauguration of the code as the right step in repositioning the company.

The code seeks “to commit NNDC and its subsidiaries to the highest standards of decent behaviour and to instill in all stakeholders of the company, legal, lawful, moral, and ethical cultural values in their daily conduct, to reward good behaviour, and sanction misconduct or any noncompliance within the company.”
The SSG said, “The North is characterised by security challenges, poverty, and industrial collapse.

“But we are endowed with vast uncultivated arable land, abundant unfound, unexploited mineral resources and a huge population.
“Today’s event reinforces the urgent need to put the North back on track. Our region lags behind in terms of economic resources, education and other social indices.”

He pledged the support of Northern states SSGs to ensure vigour and vitality in the activities of the company.
Unveiling the code, Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna State, represented at the event by Abdulkadir Meyere, his SSG, described the code as a remarkable step to further boost investment confidence and securing the goodwill the NNDC had built over the years.

Sani restated Kaduna State’s commitment to continuous partnership with the company for the benefit of the North and the nation at large.
In his message, Chairman, NNDC Board of Directors, Malam Tanimu Yakubu, said the code was introduced to further drive the company’s successes.
He said the code would be used as a “guidebook for putting our values into practice.

“We set out a clear standard of conduct to ensure that we always make the right choices, providing the appropriate framework to safeguard the company’s operations and sustainability.

“The Code was conceived on the premise of ensuring that we hold ourselves accountable and how we do business to a high standard,” Yakubu said.
He added that adhering to the new code will assist the company in keeping up with the best practices required in the quest to build a respected and successful NNDC.