Borno State governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the release of N1.4 billion for the immediate dualisation of 1.9km road from Ngomari junction to Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri.
The approval was given at the maiden state executive council meeting held yesterday at the Government House.
Briefing journalists at the end of the council’s deliberations, commissioner for Works, Mustapha Gubio, said the road network will ease movement of people in and out of the Airport which will soon commence International flight operations.
“Apart from the N1.4 billion approval made for dualization of the Gomari Junction to Muhammadu Buhari International Airport up to the Hajj Operational Unit at the airport, more roads and drainages would be executed across communities in the three senatorial districts this fiscal year”, he said.
Gubio added that various roads and drainage have been completed across the state, including laying of asphaltic structures on many washed away roads following the devastating flood disaster that wreaked havoc on critical infrastructures in the state.
On his part, Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Prof. Baba Malam Gana, noted that his ministry is determined to meet up with the needed Universal Health Coverage, as more funds have been allocated to the sector.
He emphasised that with the allocation of 15 per cent of the total state Budget size by the governor to the health sector, more medical doctors, nurses and midwives would be trained to meet up with modern medical services, even as more hospitals and clinics would be rebuilt, equipped for proper diagnosis and treatment across the state.
“The state has lost 45 per cent of its institutions due to insurgency, hence the need to reconstruct and build more health facilities. The two colleges of nursing in Monguno and Gwoza will also be completed this year to help produce more frontline health workers”, Gana said.
Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe assured that the state government is working assiduously to reduce the number of out-of-school children from the current 700,000 to 200,000 by 2027.
