Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has said that no part of the state is under the control of Boko Haram insurgents. According to him, all the stories alluding to that in social media are not true.

Zulum stated this at the Cultural Diversity Day with the theme, ‘Convergence To Dialogue, Recover and Develop Bama Emirate,’ held at the Shehu of Bama place.

He said the insurgents in Abadam and Guzamala Local Council Areas (LGAs) have been denigrated by the military.

The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner of Information, Babakura Jato, said, “Today’s event is not about the ongoing insurgency, but to show to the world that it is not about the Boko Haram war,” he said.

He noted that through the hard work and resilience of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies with the support of the Federal Government, Bama recovered from the insurgents in 2016.

He said since the return of displaced persons to Bama in 2018, there was no serious issue that would warrant IDPs to get back to camps.

“The return of IDPs to their ancestral homes has been a cardinal pursuit for this administration. The NGOs also restored returnees’ livelihoods and shelter destroyed during the 12-year insurgency. The Mercy Corps has also built 325 solar-powered houses in Bama,” he said.

While flagging off the Cultural and Development Day, the Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Umar Kyari Umar El-Kanemi said: “Today’s event is to celebrate the United Nations’ cultural diversity and development, which intends to showcase the rich and robust culture of the people of Bama Emirate.”

He noted that the cultural event was to promote a greater understanding of the language and culture of the people, which are the basic means of promoting peace and development in the state.

“This is a signal to all and sundry that peace has returned to Bama,” he said, as the emirate has restored its lost glory.

The monarch noted that the cultural day was made possible with the support and commitment of the state government.

According to him, Governor Zulum is committed to the restoration of peace and development of Bama.

The Mercy Corps Country Director, Ndubusi Anyanwu said: “We were able to collaborate with the state and local governments and other development partners to support communities to recover from immediate shocks through our emergency life saving humanitarian assistance.”

He said the assistance paved the way to build secure, just, resilient and productive communities through peacebuilding and development programmes.

He added that in the last two years, the Corps supported the return and recovery of the people with the distribution of food items to 5,000 households for six months. “A cash transfer assistance to 1, 200 households were also made to meet IDP returnees’ basic needs,” he said. (The Guardian)

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