Zulum Offers to Rebuil Police, Immigration Barracks

Michael Olugbode

The Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has ordered the construction of new barracks for the Police and the Immigration in Gamboru, Nigeria’s border town with Cameroon.

The old barracks constructed by the federal government were razed by Boko Haram insurgents at the peak of the crisis in the North East.

Zulum gave the order yesterday during the third day of his humanitarian activities in parts of the state.

Zulum, who travelled alongside Senator Kashim Shettima, his predecessor and current Senator representing Borno Central, also directed the construction of a shopping complex to enhance trade, and the reconstruction of some buildings at the Nigerian Arabic Village in Ngala town, owned by the federal government.

Zulum, Shettima and other stakeholders had traveled to Gamboru on Sunday and undertook major humanitarian activities same Sunday, Monday, and yesterday.

The governor, who inspected government buildings providing essential services in Gamboru, observed that barracks belonging to the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Immigration Service, were burnt beyond repairs.

He directed the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement to commence processes towards the construction of new barracks for both the police and the immigration services in Gamboru.

The governor further directed the Borno State Geographic Information Services (BOGIS) to construct a new shopping complex in the town, asking the Executive Secretary of BOGIS, Adam Bababe, to submit a budget for the project.

Zulum also took a tour of structures at the Nigerian Arabic Village, in Ngala town, on the invitation of the school’s executive director, and afterwards, directed the commencement of reconstruction works, with a completion deadline of 2022 ending.

The governor promised to look into other problems faced by the school to identify immediate, short, and long term interventions by the host government.

Also, in the course of his tour, Zulum announced plans for the urbanisation of border towns in the state, one of which is Gamboru that shares border with Cameroon, linking the Republic of Chad.

“Gamboru Ngala is one of our border towns, and there is the need for us to urbanise all the border towns in Borno State in order to enhance commercial and social trading activities,” he said.