Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, has called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to protect critical assets and heavy equipment belonging to the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA).
Zulum who made the call in a statement warned that the ongoing attempts to dispose of serviceable machinery as scrap metal could undermine agricultural development and security efforts in the North-East.
The governor’s appeal follows reports that some individuals are allegedly seeking to auction equipment and facilities located at the CBDA headquarters and booster stations across northern Borno under the guise of scrap metal disposal.
Established by the Federal Government to harness the agricultural and water resources of the Lake Chad Basin, the CBDA plays a strategic role in irrigation farming, livestock development, water supply and rural economic growth.
The authority was recently reconstituted by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources as part of efforts to revive its operations and strengthen food security and livelihoods in Borno and the wider North-East region.
In the statement issued by the Directorate of Information, Ministry of Information and Internal Security, Zulum described the reported auction plans as counterproductive and capable of crippling the authority’s operations.
“It has come to the attention of the Borno State Government that some unscrupulous elements are attempting to cart away the heavy equipment domiciled at the CBDA premises and booster stations across Northern Borno in the name of scrap metal auctioning,” the governor said.
According to him, the equipment was procured by the Federal Government at considerable costs and remain serviceable.
“There is no reason whatsoever to auction them, as doing so will decapitate the CBDA and cripple the agricultural value chain in our state,” he added.
Among the assets reportedly targeted for disposal are irrigation stations, booster plants, drilling machines, power-generation facilities, tractors, bulldozers, combined harvesters, pipelines and crop-processing equipment.
Zulum argued that removing such equipment would effectively amount to decommissioning the agency and jeopardising ongoing efforts to revive agricultural production in communities recovering from years of insurgency.
The governor also linked illegal metal scavenging to insecurity in the state, noting that scrap metal activities have often been associated with criminal networks operating in conflict-prone areas.
He said there was a connection between insurgency, criminality and the illegal trade in metals in parts of Borno.
The governor warned that allowing public assets to be dismantled and sold could inadvertently benefit terrorist groups operating around the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest and the Timbuktu Triangle.
While acknowledging the Federal Government’s efforts to defeat insurgency, facilitate the resettlement of displaced persons and restore economic activities, Zulum cautioned that the alleged disposal of strategic assets would undermine those gains.
“While the Federal Government of Nigeria is working assiduously to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, fast-track the mass resettlement of internally displaced persons and revamp agriculture and rural livelihood, some unscrupulous elements and heartless vendors are working to frustrate the vision of the Federal Government,” he said.
The governor reiterated that Borno State’s ban on scrap metal activities remains in force, insisting that the trade has often been used as a cover for the vandalisation and sale of valuable public infrastructure.
“We shall never allow any person or group to remove any metal from our state. We are recovering from a decade of insurgency, and we can service and recover our metals to serve as the agricultural and industrial backbone of our dear state,” he stated.
Zulum therefore urged the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to intervene and halt any plans to dispose of CBDA assets, while also calling on the military and other security agencies to intensify surveillance around the authority’s facilities and other strategic locations across the state.
He maintained that preserving the CBDA’s equipment is essential not only for agricultural recovery and food security but also for safeguarding public investments and supporting long-term peacebuilding efforts in Borno State.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
