There is a growing sense of unease among the current cabinet members in the Borno state government ahead of the compulsory end-of-term cabinet dissolution expected to be carried out by Governor Babagana Zulum before May 29th.
Rumours swirl that the governor, currently holidaying abroad, may soon announce the dissolution. But some people doubt if the second tenure cabinet would ever be differ from the current one.
The governor had, at the beginning of his first term, in 2019 promised to change his cabinet annually, to allow many other politicians who worked for the party during the 2019 elections to be carried along by his government.
However, despite this promise, Governor Zulum was unable to carry out his promise as he retained the cabinet, except for some little shakeups, throughout his first term of four years.
This has, no doubt, led to growing dissatisfaction among some party members, who feel that they have been excluded from the political process.
There is no questions that Governor Zulum has received widespread recognition and praise for his notable achievements over the last three years and eleven months. Nevertheless, some party members feel discontented as the Governor’s failure to execute his commitment to annual cabinet reshuffles may have deprived the government of opportunities for new and more innovative ideas.
Some of the outgoing commissioners are reportedly already lobbying to be carried along in the second and final term of Governor Zulum. However, it remains to be seen whether the governor will heed their requests or opt for a complete overhaul of his cabinet.
A top insider of the Zulum cabinet who spoke to this writer off-record hinted that the governor would “shock many people” by the time he took the oath of office on May 29.
“Everyone would answer his father’s name in the second term because there may be a lot of surprises,” the source said.
Across the board, the looming cabinet dissolution and the attendant high-wired lobbying underscores the challenges to be faced by Governor Zulum in managing the diverse interests of his party members and delivering on his promises to the people of Borno State.
As the governor prepares to commence his second term in office on May 29,/many will be watching closely to see how he navigates these complex political waters and steers the state towards progress and development as projected in his 25-year development plan and ten years action plan of Borno state.
Abdulkareem is our guest writer who is based in Maiduguri
Borno State Governor Babagana8 Zulum has extended Easter greetings to Christians across Nigeria and urged citizens to pray for peace and progress in the state.
He also called on celebrants to reach out to those in need and commit part of their prayers for a successful second term of his administration and for the full restoration of peace, safe resettlement of citizens, and the revival of means of livelihoods.
Zulum emphasized the importance of infrastructure projects, programs, and policies that will improve living standards and strengthen economies in all senatorial zones of the state.
Additionally, he urged security agencies to sustain their efforts in preserving security during the festivities and beyond.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has inaugurated the construction of Borno’s second flyover aimed at reducing traffic congestion and improving infrastructure in the state capital, Maiduguri.
The Chinese company in charge of the project is expected to deliver it at a cost of N5.8 billion.
The flyover will be situated around the Borno Express with roads connecting three key parts of Maiduguri, including the international airport, township stadium, and Tashan Kano.
The project will cover 600 meters of a concrete bridge with additional road networks.
This is the second flyover to be constructed by the governor, with the first one commissioned in December 2021 by President Buhari,
Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has expressed satisfaction with the progress of ongoing rehabilitation works at the Maiduguri Monday market which was engulfed by fire on Sunday, February 26, 2023.
Zulum made this known today (Tuesday) when he paid an assessment visit to the market, the repairs of which is being accelerated to hasten return of trading activities.
The governor was received and conducted round the market by the Monday Market Committee chairman, Engr Zarami Dungus.
“I am satisfied with the level of work done. This committee is doing a very great job and we have to support you. Most importantly we should beef up the security here to ensure the absolute safety of people’s property”, Zulum said.
Governor Zulum had in response to the fire disaster, approved the release of N2 billion with one billion meant as emergency palliative to victims and another one billion naira for the start of reconstruction of the market.
The governor supervised the commencement of work last week.
.. All donations well documented, Governor assures
Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Zulum has explained that donations so far received in respect to the Maiduguri Monday Market fire incident have been properly documented and urged mischief makers to stop spreading misleading information on the social media.
Giving the breakdown, Zulum said, a donation of N300m was made by the Zenith Bank Ltd, N100m each by the Vice President-Elect, Kashim Shettima, the Yobe State Government, All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Chairman of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Alhaji Kashim Imam.
Others, he said, are the donation of N50m by Martix Nigeria Ltd, N20m by Al-Ansar Foundation and N10m by the Senator representing Southern Borno, Mohammed Ali Ndume.
“I heard some information going round on social media, we have to be very careful. Some people are posting ghost donations which we know nothing about. There was even a social media report that one person has donated N500m, but we did not receive such an amount, people should take note of that”, the governor said.
“At least after every two weeks, the committee as the custodian of the special account meant for the market fire incident should inform the public of the amount of money received”, Zulum noted.
Governor of Borno state has recently taken his campaign trail to the southern local governments of the state where he commissioned several capital projects executed by his administration in the past three years.
Top among the projects that have further endeared him more to the electorates is the mega water which has the capacity to store and distribute 1,250,000 litres of water at Mboa village in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.
Mboa, a village is located 5km from Chibok town, The newly commissioned water project is expected to serve over 40,000 residents of not just Mboa village but also of Chibok town and neighboring communities.
Officials said the water facility has a storage capacity of a 750,000-litre surface tank and a 500,000-litre overhead tank with water sources from 20 motorised boreholes.
“Access to portable water has been one of the major challenges of Chibok town,” Zulum said.
Zulum commissioning projects
“During our electioneering campaign, we promised you that if elected we shall address the water problems you face. This night we are here to commission a multi-million naira project which was executed to provide Chibok and its environs with water.”
Commissioner of Water Resources, Tijjani Alkali, explained that the water project is powered by 36,000 watts of solar and a 100 kva generating set.
New Schools for Damboans, Askiras
Governor Zulum’s working campaign tour moved to Gumsuri, a ward in Damboa LGA, to commission a senior secondary school on the same Monday night.
The governor commissioned a new junior secondary school in Askira town with classroom to contain about 1,000 students.
Each student of the new schools was handed art of uniforms, reading and writing materials as well as bicycles to ease transportation especially for those coming from distant places.
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The opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Borno state has called on the state governor, Babagana Zulum to order the supporters of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC), to stop destroying the opposition campaign billboards in the state.
The opposition party alleged that about 16 of its billboards displaying the impression of their Presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and that of a senatorial candidate for Borno Central, Attom Magira-Tom, have been destroyed or pulled down by supporters of the ruling APC in the state.
This allegation was contained in a signed statement sent to the newsroom of Bay-6 News Online by officials of the party.
The APC has however denied involvement in the alleged hostility towards rival parties in the state, while insisting that the claims were “concucted.”
But acording to state chairman of NNPP, Barrister Mohammed Mustapha, his party has the cause to replace several billboards that were destroyed by the supporters of the ruling party two weeks ago, but only to be destroyed again on the same night.
The opposition party chairman said they were informed by credible sources that their party campaign infrastructure were targeted for attack at the behest of the state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum.
The NNPP chairman said “the APC thugs” were not only destroying their billboards but also replacing same with their own (APC) Posters even though they had paid the Borno urban development board all the fees to secure the locations for the placements.
The opposition party chairman who had also shared photographs of the destroyed campaign billboard expressed disappointment at the ruling partys level of political intolerance so far demonstrated by the Governor and his ruling party.
The party, thereby, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies to deploy relevant sections of the Electoral Act to check the excesses of the APC and its government.
“We, therefore, call on the APC-led government under Professor Babagana Zulum to call his party members to order, as there is a limit to indiscretion. We will continue to call our members to maintain orderliness; but will not tolerate further onslaught on our party campaign structures,” Barrister Mohammed warned.
A billboard of NNPP allegedly destroyed by the APC thugs
Read the full text of the statement:
“The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Borno state chapter finds it highly imperative to draw the attention of the good people of Borno to the dangerous political trends capable of plunging our dear state into wanton violence and disruption of the emergent fragile peace that we have collectively fought for.
It is alarming to note that no other group is leading this mundane and archaic politics of bitterness other than the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its government under Professor Babagana Umara Zulum. A man who has been promoted as the people’s governor.
It may interest the general public to note on Friday, January 20th, 2023, a second peace accord was signed by all the political parties, their leadership and candidates to demonstrate our readiness to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct peaceful, hitch-free and violence-free 2023 general election.
That singular action, as organised by the National Peace Committee headed by the Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, gave all well-meaning Nigerians the confidence of having yet another democratic progress that will reflect the overwhelming wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.
It is disheartening to say that we, the people of Borno state, having crept out of one of the ugliest insurgencies in recent times across the globe, may not benefit from the dividends of the Peace Accord signed by our leaders and elder statesmen of high repute. This is mainly due to the actions and negative body language of the ruling APC and its government in Borno state.
The likes of political sages, like the Late Waziri Ibrahim of blessed memory, who was the proponent of “Politics Without Bitterness”, will be turning their grave in the face of the cruel politics being perpetrated in the state that once prides itself as the Home of Peace.
We, the members of the NNPP, have been on the front burner of the victims of the political violence of the APC and its hired political thugs in recent times.
On Friday, January 20, 2023, the campaign billboards of our Presidential candidate, His Excellency Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and that of the Borno Central Senatorial candidate, His Excellency Attom Magira Tom, were violently attacked and destroyed in strategic locations across the Maiduguri Metropolis and other major communities within the constituency.
This attack on our campaign structures was coming barely two weeks after similar destruction was carried out on the same number of billboards. As law-abiding members of a party whose principles have resonated with the electorates, we did not call for counter-violence. Instead, we urged our teaming supporters to remain calm and law-abiding while the leadership of NNPP reported the matter to concerned security agencies.
The Friday incident of an attack on our billboard was carried out in a coordinated fashion on the night of the very day we replaced our duly authorised billboards.
It is even more saddening to note that the APC and its thugs did not only destroy our billboards, but they also went ahead to replace the banners on them with those of some of their own APC candidates even though we have paid the Borno state government all the required fees for the advertisement permit.
For the avoidance of doubts, we want the public to fact-check our claims by visiting the West-End Roundabout, the Dandal Police station Roundabout, the Post Office Roundabout, Opposite Metro Police Division, the Adjacent Government College Maiduguri, Adjacent FGC Monguno, Adjacent Umaru Shehu General Hospital, Airport Roundabout, LM Bakery Junction at GidanMadara, Bulunkutu Yan-Nono, Bama Road/Lagos Street Junction, Adjacent UBA along Sir Kashim Road, and host of many other places to verify our claims.
We want to kindly remind the general public that this attitude of violence by the APC and its government did not start today.
It was on record that on August 25, 2022, the Borno state Secretariat of our great party NNPP was, in the most shameful manner, sealed by the Borno state Urban Development Board on the directives of the state governor. That incident happened about three days to the day the National leader and presidential candidate of the NNPP, His Excellency Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, was expected to visit the state and commission the Secretariat.
On the same day, our Senatorial Candidate, and party leader in Borno state, His Excellency Attom Magira Tom, was unlawfully arrested and detained by the Nigeria police for many hours simply because he showed up at the Secretariat to find out what was going on.
Similarly, on August 28, 2022, when our Presidential candidate visited Maiduguri to launch our party, NNPP, his convoy was brutally attacked on the way to the airport, and not less than ten of our vehicles were vandalised.
All these unfortunate happenings are going on in our state at a time when the state is governed by a University Professor and member of the National Institute, who is supposed to be an intellectual and above board.
In light of these ugly trends, coming weeks of the conduct of the general election, we call on the INEC to take disciplinary measures against the violation of the Electoral Act by the APC and its government.
We are also worried that most of the destruction perpetrated on our billboards by the APC was done at locations where the offices of the security agencies are located, and nothing was done to prevent its continuous recurrence.
We, therefore, call on the APC-led government under Professor Babagana Zulum to call his party members to order, as there is a limit to indiscretion. We will continue to call our members to order but will not tolerate further onslaught on our party campaign structures. ”
Chairman of the APC, Hon Dalori insisted that, “the NNPP is crying foul on the crushing victory by the APC-led government under the leadership of governor Babagana Zulum who in the last three and half years, was able to put smile on the faces of Borno people through dividends of democracy and inclusiveness.”
Meanwhile, a mainstream newspaper has quoted the APC chairman, Ali Bukar Dalori, denying the allegation and stressing that “the NNPP is concocting lies against the ruling APC.”
“The APC and its teaming supporters are peace-loving individuals who are poised to ensure Borno sustains its developmental strides under the good leadership qualities of Governor Zulum,” the reported quoted the APC chairman who this newsroom has not been able to reach at the moment.
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Borno state governor Babagana Zulum has authorized the allocation of 30 hectares of land for the establishment of two training institutes recently approved to be cited in his state, a statement from his office said.
The approved 30 hectares land will accommodate the proposed Industrial Equipment and Machinery Development Institute (IEMDI) and a Skill Acquisition Institute that we’re approved recently by President Muhammadu Buhari, for siting in Borno State.
Mr Zulum gracioudly gave the directive for the allocation of the land on Friday, Jan. 13 when the Executive Vice Chairman of the National Agency For Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Mohammed Haruna, paid him a visit in Maiduguri.
The governor directed that the 30 hectares of land needed for the two projects be allocated, the next day, Saturday, Jan.14 and all documentation be completed within one week.
The governor said “Government of Borno State will provide all the necessary support for the establishment of IEMDI and the Skill Acquisition Institute projects.”
“I have therefore directed 30 hectares of land allocated to NASENI tomorrow (Saturday) and all the necessary documents presented in one week”, Zulum added.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Professor Haruna, had earlier informed the governor that Borno got approvals in recognition of Zulum’s sterling performance.
“Your Excellency (Governor Zulum), I have these glad tidings for you from Mr President. The President has approved the location (Borno) for establishment of the Industrial Equipment and Machinery Development Institute (IEMDI),” he said.
“The President has also approved the establishment of the Skills Development Institute. These are as a result of your excellent performance.”
He explained that the development institute was aimed at researching, designing and manufacturing tools, machines, processing, and equipment that will fast-track the establishment of cottage industries.
The institute, he added, will produce spare parts of all equipment that will ensure industrialization not only of Borno but the entire northeast.
On the Skill Acquisition Institute, Professor Haruna said more young persons without formal education will have avenues to acquire skills that can make them become self-reliant.
The NASENI executive vice chairman informed Governor Zulum that President Buhari has approved skills- development training of 100 youths to be selected from all the 27 LGAs, on vulcanizing and modern plumbing.
He said after training, each trainee will receive starter pack that will contain modern kits.
Bay States News 