Zulum: Borno State 90% Safe for 2023 Elections

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has assured that there is no cause for alarm conducting the 2023 general elections in the state as the security situation had stabilised at 90 percent.

The governor, who spoke with newsmen yesterday after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, also gave a progress report on the rehabilitation and resettlement process for the internally displaced persons (IDP) in the state.
Commenting on the security situation in his state, Zulum said though there is no place without some level of security challenge, the state government had received support from the federal government and the military.

According to him, much progress had been made at restoring the state to its former peaceful state.
Asked if the people of the state will not be disenfranchised during the upcoming election scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, Zulum said, “People of Borno State voted during the 2015 elections. They also voted during the 2019 elections. Can you compare the security situation in 2019, 2011 and now? The security in Borno has improved tremendously by over 90%. So we don’t have any problem.

“Eligible voters can go and cast their votes on election day, Insha Allah, in Borno State, we don’t have any problem.”
Going forward, he said the plan of his government in the new year would entail seeing “how we can sustain what we are doing. So far, so good in terms of security, the federal government has done well, the military has also done very well. We are now looking into the possibility of rehabilitating the victims of the insurgency.

“Quite a number of them have surrendered and then the federal government is supporting our mission of rehabilitating them, but most importantly, we are yet to complete our resettlement project of which very soon we shall resettle communities of Gudumbali Local Government Area of Borno State and then we shall also resettle all our refugees that are living in the Republics of Niger, Chad and Cameroun. The President has given approval to this effect and very soon we shall start.”

Speaking on the progress so far made on returning displaced persons back home, Zulum said all the official IDP camps within the Maiduguri metropolis had been dismantled, adding that all unofficial ones will be dismantled a few months from now.

He said: “Resettlement is not something easy, it will take a very long time, but the most important thing is that those that are very much in need to be resettled will be resettled. We have closed down all official IDP camps within the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere Local Government Area, as I said last year.

“For now, we don’t have any official IDP camp within Maiduguri Metropolitan Council. The unofficial camps will also be closed in the next few months.”
On claims that some parts of the state are still under the control of insurgents, he said, “Even in the developed world we still have some pockets of insecurity, but by and large, we have succeeded a lot. Over 90% of our security station has been improved.

“We’ve noticed improvement in terms of security in Borno State. In Borno State we are doing very well now. Our rehabilitation and resettlement is also going very well. We are looking forward to seeing how we can rehabilitate Maiduguri-Gomboru/Ngala Road and then Maiduguri-Banki Road, with a view to opening up opportunities for the people to earn their means of livelihood.”

On his re-election bid, asked what his chances against the opposition are, Zulum said, “It is impossible to question the destiny of God,” and when asked how his campaigns are progressing, he said, “Very well. Borno State is in APC family, one big APC family.”