Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has expressed concern over the enormous financial burden of combating insecurity in the state, revealing that his administration has spent about N100 billion this year on security alone.
Zulum made the disclosure on Thursday, December 4, during a visit to the Emir of Uba, Ali Ibn Mamza, at his palace in Uba town, Askira/Uba Local Government Area.
The governor said the visit was aimed at assessing the security situation in the region, noting that persistent insecurity had forced contractors to abandon key road construction projects.
“My visit is to do a lot of work and, most especially, assess the security situation. Security is important; without it, there would be no peace,” Zulum said. He explained that despite plans to construct major roads, contractors were unwilling to work in areas still considered unsafe.
To address the challenge, the governor announced plans to establish a quarry in Gwoza and procure 100 trucks to enable the state’s road maintenance agency to execute road construction projects independently.
“In this year, what I spent on security is about N100bn. If there is peace, why wouldn’t I use it to do some developmental projects?” he said. “We have many plans for education, health and more, but we are spending so much on security and building necessary structures.”
Zulum assured residents that road construction would resume soon and that the government is also working on establishing new higher education institutions, computer centres and other developmental projects to uplift the community.
