Borno State governor Babagana Umara Zulum and his deputy, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, have been sworn – in for the second term in office as governor and deputy governor of the state, respectively, with a promise to recruit 6,500 teachers and health workers.
He also promised rapid development and to build 27 micro finance banks in the local government areas as well as build 27 ICT centres and 27 boreholes.
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Zulum who took the oath of office at exactly 10am on Monday amid jubilant party faithful, told the mammoth crowd that what makes him the happiest man at the ceremony is not the commencement of a second term, but the fact that Allah is granting the people peace in Borno State, and with that peace, one million fellow citizens are no longer living in internally displaced persons ( IDPs ) camps, adding that they are safely living with their dignity in over 20,000 newly built and rehabilitated resettlement homes and in their ancestral communities which his administration rebuilt.
“In a similar vein, we restored civil authority and basic amenities, and re-opened for livelihoods. I stand before you today with absolute gratitude to the Almighty Allah, the giver and taker of power. I stand before you with absolute humility.
“It is expected that standing here to begin another term should make me the happiest person in our midst. While this could be true, let me add that what makes me the happiest man here is not the commencement of a second term, but the fact that Allah is granting us peace in Borno State, and with that peace, one million fellow citizens are no longer living in IDP camps. They are safely living with their dignity in over 20,000 newly built and rehabilitated resettlement homes and in their ancestral communities which we rebuilt. In a similar vein, we restored civil authority and basic amenities, and re-opened for livelihoods,” the governor said.
He said the government has built, rehabilitated and equipped over 100 healthcare centres, and have recruited over 1,000 medical staff made up of doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, radiologists and lab scientists, saying the government is currently building own State University Teaching Hospital.
He added that with citizens support, government has invested heavily in existing state University and commenced academic activities since 2019, noting that the state now has Federal Polytechnic in Monguno and a Federal College of Education in Gwoza.
“We have built 24 new mega schools some of which are dedicated to technical education. We rehabilitated 108 existing schools, employed about 1,000 teachers and in the process of recruiting about 4,000 more.
“During our second tenure insha Allah, we shall sustain the current peace in Borno and shall strengthen our security architecture to completely eliminate all forms of insurgency in the state. Open up our rural roads and in shaa Allah will resume night travels in Borno,” he added.