Borno State government plans to resettle at least four communities displaced from Gwoza local government area.
They include Ngoshe, Warabe, Ashgashiya and Hambagda all in Gwoza, home to more than 20,000 internally displaced people who have returned to a camp in the wake of some peace.
Governor Babagana Zulum travelled to Gwoza, has met with returning IDPs in Pulka and proceeded to other villages whose residents were forced out into Cameroon by Boko Haram fighting.
At Kirawa, a border community where he went to assess infrastructure destroyed by the insurgents, thousands of the village dwellers who had been hitherto taken refuge in Cameroon crossed back home on sighting the Governor’s convoy passing through the village.
There, Governor Zulum said that his Government was looking at the possibility of returning people to Ngoshe, Warabe, Ashgashiya and Hambagda all in Gwoza.
“Borno State Government is liaising with the Nigerian military to explore the possibility of returning people back to Kirawa,” he noted, saying, “We are here purposely to examine the security architecture of this very important town, Kirawa.
“We have started interfacing with the Nigerian Military with the view to resettling the people of Kirawa. But the most important thing we have to do now is to ensure minimum security in the town.
“As far as the Government of Borno is concerned, you can see the Commissioner of RRR (Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resentment) is here. We are ready and committed to ensure people are resettled into this community,” Zulum added.
Many natives of the villages interviewed in Maiduguri described the resettlement programme as timely, urging the government to build modernized, befitting and quality public facilities that would last for many decades.
Zulum, while addressing thousands of IDPs and host communities in Pulka town, had approved the construction of a new mega Secondary School in the town.
Before departing Maiduguri for Gwoza LGA, Governor Zulum had ordered the deployment of dozens of trailers loaded with varieties of food and non-food items in which he intends to directly supervise the strict allocation to displaced and vulnerable citizens in Pulka.
According to an official participating in the distribution exercise, over 20,000 IDPs and residents of Pulka have benefited from the varieties of food and non-food items.
The official also said that Governor Zulum, this week alone, travelled to Kala-Balge, Ngala, Marte, Dikwa and Mafa Local Government Areas and was directly involved in the distribution of food items to more than 10,000 displaced and vulnerable citizens.
He added that the Governor had assessed destroyed schools, hospitals and issued different directives on deadlines for completion of ongoing projects. He also addressed issues relating to commencement of farming activities.
Zulum in his remark extends appreciation to the President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Northeast Development Commission, National Emergency Management Agency and Dangote Foundation for their enormous contributions of food items to the state government.
