Zulum Opens 6 New Schools, Clarifies Borno State Ownership of Projects

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Tuesday, inaugurated six new secondary schools constructed by his administration.

The governor also unveiled a “Build Back Better Strategy” aimed at increasing enrollment of new students. The new schools were equipped with modern teaching facilities and sporting complexes.

They are Government Day Secondary School, Maiduguri; Government Day Secondary School, 777 Housing Estate; Government Day Secondary School, 1000 Housing Estate; Government Junior Day Secondary School, Wulari; Government Day Secondary School, Bulanulin Diyabe and Government Day Secondary School, Gonifamgari.

The Borno State Government as part of its “Build Back Better Strategy,” has also launched the distribution of school items for 100,000 students who will be enrolled in public schools across the state for the 2024/2025 academic session.

The governor revealed that all the projects executed by his administration are owned and funded by the Borno State Government.

According to him at the inauguration of the new project on Tuesday, “Before I go on, I want to clarify certain things that are not well understood by many in Borno State; all those projects you are seeing, some with the inscription of World Bank project, the African Development Bank project, and so on, are not their projects.

“The projects are funded by the Borno State Government. When I came in, I asked the Adolescent Girl-Child Education, AGILE, why do you completely take ownership of the projects, writing (AGILE) in all the spaces. I don’t have any problem with that, But I think our people need to understand that all these projects belong to the Government of Borno State.

“We borrowed the money, and we are going to pay it back; even federal government-funded projects are those that the federal government borrowed from the World Bank. But repayment is made from the federation account, of which Borno State is part.

“This AGILE project, for example, is a 60-million-dollar project, am I right? The Borno State Government borrowed it, which will be paid back within 25 years with a moratorium of five years.

“The World Bank provides some guidance, especially in procurement and safeguarding, both environmental and social safeguards. And most especially, monitoring and evaluation, among others. This is to ensure that projects are implemented according to the component designed and agreed by the sub-national governments and duly signed under a subsidiary loan agreement by the Government of Borno State.

“As a borrower and horizontal coordinator, the federal government provides oversight for implementing the project at the national level. I think some people do not understand when they see projects with the World Bank inscription on them. But the projects completely belong to the Government of Borno State.

“When we took over the mantle of leadership as Government of Borno State, a continuation of the previous administration. We decided to provide access to ensure children’s enrollment in schools. Boko Haram insurgency has created a severe gap in that direction. So, AGILE was meant to bridge the education gap, especially in girl-child education.

“I believe after I complete my four-year tenure, the next governor who is coming, if he wants to work, I think he will divert most of his attention to service delivery because I will almost complete the construction of all schools in Borno State.”