June 13, (THEWILL) – The Speaker, Borno House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, has lamented over the inability of the Nigerian Military and other security agencies to restore civil authority for the past 10 years at Guzamala local government headquarters.
Abdulkarim, who hails from Guzamala, disclosed this on Wednesday while delivering his goodwill message at the celebration of the Democracy Day in Maiduguri.
He maintained that the Zulum administration is relentlessly providing dividends of democracy at all levels, Guzamala and Abadam Local Government Areas in the Northern part of the state have been denied all the opportunities, as they continue to witness ‘zero- project’ for over a decade.
The speaker said, “I have been appealing to the Federal Government and the military time without numbers to restore civil authority in the Guzamala Council area, but all my pleas to the military and other security agencies failed woefully.
“As long as we appreciate the good efforts put in place by Governor Zulum and the cordial working relationship that exists between the Executives, Legislature and the Judiciary in transforming all hitherto liberated communities in Borno, especially in the area of construction of roads, schools, hospitals, houses, provision of Agricultural inputs, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of our displaced people, poverty alleviation, jobs creation among others, the people of Guzamala and Abadam local government council have recorded zero-project for over decade due to its inaccessibility by civilians.
“Even in Kukawa local government area where there is presence of civil authority, there is no presence of military or any security operatives in Kukawa Council headquarters, and that is why the resilient people living inside Kukawa town were served with a warning or threatened letters recently by ISWAP terrorists to vacate the town or risks their lives.
“As we celebrate the 2024 Democracy Day, I want to reiterate my appeal to the federal government under the leadership of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Military authorities to restore civil authority in Guzamala Council and other inaccessible areas, so that our displaced people taking refuge in Niger Republic or those living in host communities of Maiduguri metropolis and Gajiram, Monguno local government areas should go back to their ancestral homes and pick up their pieces”, Lawan stated.
In his address, the Acting Governor, Dr Umar Kadafur informed the gathering that a committee set up under the Chairmanship of the Commissioner for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Hon. Sugum Mai Mele, and the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF are working around the clock to restore normalcy and relocate back displaced people of Guzamala to their ancestral homes, Government will expedite action to resettle all Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs back to their communities before the end of its tenure.
Recall that Governor Zulum inaugurated a resettlement committee on 4th July 2022 to reconstruct and resettle the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Gudumbali town, which is the headquarters of Guzamala LGA of Borno State.
About the Author
I am Ladi Dapson, a general writer with thewill. I cover Borno and Yobe states respectively.
I based Maiduguri, Borno State Capital.
I can be reached via [email protected].
Very high and kind regards!
