Zulum Supervises Distribution of Food, Agric Input to 35,000 Families in Borno

*Establishes nursing schools to bridge manpower gap in healthcare

Michael  Olugbode in Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum has supervised the distribution of food items and agricultural inputs to over 35,000 male heads of household in Monguno local government area of the state.
Each of the 35,000 beneficiaries received one bag of 25kg of rice and cowpeas to enable them cultivate their farmlands, a government statement said yesterday.
Zulum revealed that the rice package was part of the 20 trucks donated by the federal government to the state to alleviate the hardship faced by people due to high cost of food items.

He said: “We are in Monguno town mainly for two functions, first to distribute food items provided to the government of Borno State by the federal government. 20 trucks of rice were given to us, and this morning, we distributed all of them to this community.
“In addition to this, we have also distributed seeds, as most of them do not have the capacity to buy farm inputs, and we have distributed cowpeas to all the able heads of households.

“I want also to inform you that the federal government has provided 90 trucks of fertiliser to the state government for free to distribute to our farmers,” Zulum stated.
The governor, who was in Monguno expressed gratitude to the federal government for supporting the people of the state. He said: “On behalf of the people of Borno State, I want to appreciate the federal government for this laudable gesture.”
He also distributed over N450 million to 45,000 widows and vulnerable women in Monguno during his Sunday visit.

Zulum said: “We have also distributed N10,000 in cash support and a wrapper to each of the over 45,000 widows and vulnerable women in Monguno town.”
According to the governor, the distribution of palliative by his administration was not meant to create dependency but to support vulnerable families that have lost their sources of livelihood to the Boko Haram crisis facing Borno State.
Meanwhile, Zulum has expressed commitment to addressing the manpower deficit in the healthcare sector of Borno State.
The governor made this known on Sunday in Monguno when he paid an assessment visit to the project site for the construction of School of Nursing in the northern part of Borno.

“Human resources in the healthcare sector is one of the major problems throughout the country. To provide a permanent but long-term solution, we have decided to establish a school of nursing in Monguno so that in the near future, we will produce health workers who would provide healthcare services to the people of northern Borno.
“We have also established another school of nursing in Gwoza to serve the need for additional nurses in the southern part of the state. In addition to the two schools of nursing, we have established two eye and dental hospitals each in the northern and southern parts of the state with a comprehensive teaching hospital at an advanced stage of completion located in Maiduguri.

“We will complete these projects on time and we promise to equip them. What matters is not only the establishment of these tertiary institutions, but the most important thing is the human resources that are needed in these health centres,” Zulum assured.

He assured that he will recruit enough human resources to meet the needs of the three institutions, equip them and power them  by solar energy.

The governor expressed satisfaction with the contractor’s level and quality of the project and directed that the institutions be provided with solar energy.