Borno State governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, has provided free transportation to enable non-indigenes residing in the state to travel home and celebrate the Christmas and the New Year with their loved ones.
The free transport scheme launched by the governor would enable the non-indigenes travel to as far as over 25 locations across the country from the Borno Express Transport Terminal and Station Kano Park in the Maiduguri metropolis, beginning from 21st to 23rd of December this month.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP Friday at the Borno Express terminal yesterday in Maiduguri, the coordinator of the Ohanaeze Support Group which is in conjunction with Omaluegwuoku Progressive Initiative and Internal Diasporans in Borno, Chief Ugochukwu Egwudike, said the gesture was borne out of the governor’s magnanimity and desire to ameliorate the sufferings faced by the residents, and to give them a sense of belonging.
Chief Egwudike further said the entire non indigenes in the state are happy to benefit from the free transport scheme considering the high cost of living caused by fuel subsidy removal which has taken toll on the citizens.
“ The people are happy with the privilege given to them by the governor. He has been touching the lives of the people irrespective of tribe or religion , and out of about 630 persons that are going to benefit from the free transport scheme, 275 are travelling today marking the first day ,while the remaining beneficiaries will move between Friday and Saturday. All of them are given feeding allowance considering the distance they are to travel.
“ So , it is a 3-day programme and on the fourth day , quite a good number of widows will receive financial assistance to enable them celebrate the Christmas and the New Year here in the state,” Egwudike said.
Speaking for the Yoruba community in the state who are among the beneficiaries, Chief Saka Ganiyu Abiodun, expressed gratitude to Zulum for the gesture, saying that the governor is known for caring for the poor.
In a similar vein, the secretary of the Board of Trustees ( BOT ) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Borno State, Pharm Napoleon Egbonu, who said he was sent by the Igbo community to supervise what is happening and appreciate the governor, said the gesture is directly touching the downtrodden.
For the leader of Eggon community in Borno and a native of Nasarawa State, who said he has lived in the state for over 40 years working for the Nigeria Railway Corporation, the governor’s gesture is timely considering the economic hardship bedeviling the people presently.
