Borno 90% Safe For General Elections, Says Gov Zulum

Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, has declared that his State was 90 per cent secure and safe for the forthcoming general elections.

The governor gave the assurance after a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Friday.

He also assured the voting public of their safety before, during and after the February/March elections.

Asked what he was doing to assure those afraid to go collect their PVCs because of insecurity as they may not be able to use it during the elections, he said: “The people of Borno State voted during the 2015 elections. They also voted during the 2019 elections.

“Can you compare the security situation in 2019 and 2015 and now? The security situation has improved tremendously by over 90 per cent, 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.”

On the state of security in the State, he said there was a great improvement in terms of security.

According to him, the State was doing very well now, and rehabilitation and resettlement were also going on very well.

He said, “we are looking forward to seeing how we can rehabilitate Maiduguri-Gamborun-Gala Road and then Maiduguri-Banke Road with a view to opening up opportunities for the people to earn their means of livelihood.”

On what to expect this year, Zulum said: “Want to see how we can sustain what we are doing. So far, so good in terms of security, the federal government has done well, and the military has also done very well.

“We are now looking into the possibility of rehabilitating the victims of the insurgency, a lot of them have surrendered. The federal government is supporting our mission of rehabilitation.

“But most importantly, we are yet to complete our resettlement project and very soon we will resettle victims of the Gudubali local government area and also we will resettle all our refugees that are living in Republics of Niger and Chad, and Cameroon. Mr. President has approved to this effect and very soon we will complete the entire settlement.”

Asked when the resettlement will be completed, the governor said: “Resettlement is not something that is easy, it will take a long time. But the most important thing is that those that are very much in need to be resettled will be resettled.

“But most importantly, we have closed down all official IDP camps in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere local government area, as I said, last one year ago. 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.”

Asked to confirm or deny reports that there are some areas in the State where insurgents are still holding sway, the governor said: “Even in the developed world, we still have some pockets of insecurity. But by and large, we have succeeded alot.”

On how prepared he is on his re-election bid against the opposition in his State, the governor said: “It is impossible to question the destiny of God. The campaign is going on very well, Borno State is one big APC family.”