The deputy governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha, has disclosed that the state government spends a whopping sum of N667 million monthly to take care of the displaced persons, noting that apart from workers’ salary payment, the federal allocation that accrue to the state is being expended to cater for the teeming displaced persons in the state.
Mustapha stated that about two million people across the 20 local government areas of the state taken over by Boko Haram insurgents are currently displaced and residing in various internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in the state.
The deputy governor who was in Adamawa State as part of state government effort to evacuate the remaining IDPs from the state currently taking refuge in Adamawa noted that so far, the state government has evacuated about 43,000 IDP’s back to Borno State from Adamawa State.
He disclosed that the Borno State government has suspended every developmental project and is now concentrating on taking care of the teeming displaced persons scattered across the remaining seven local governments that have not been taken over by Boko Haram insurgents.
He said the state government has embarked on the distribution of free food for all the displaced persons in the state noting that the move has become expedient in view of the fact that almost all the IDPs did not farm during last year’s farming season. He added that if the measure is not taken, many of the displaced persons will be afflicted by severe hunger.
Mustapha stated that all the secondary schools in the state have been turned to IDPs camps as a result of which education especially at that level suffers setback. He added that only some primary schools are currently operating in the state in the past five months since insurgents took over majority of the local governments of the state.
He expressed displeasure over the failure of the security operatives to liberate any of the captured territories adding that in the past five months, no local government was liberated.
He accused the insurgents of turning the teachings of Islam upside down adding that the posture they took in prohibiting western education was against the teachings of Islam which encourages people to seek education. He noted that the insurgents are being mischievous because all the gadgets they are using in fighting their devious war are products of the western education.
Mustapha urged the federal government to expedite the liberation of the captured territories as he said no election can be conclusive in Nigeria if some parts of the country did not partake in the voting exercise. He stressed that with the vast territories captured in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, no presidential or gubernatorial election in the affected states could be said to be conclusive.
