Auno: Zulum Unveils, Allocates 580 Resettlement Houses to Displaced Families

Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, the governor of Borno, commissioned 580 two-bedroom residences on Wednesday, which were immediately allotted for resettlement of Boko Haram-displaced families who had been living in IDP camps for years.

Zulum unveiled the houses in Auno, Konduga Local Government Area, at a brief ceremony attended by government officials, the district head of Auno, and displaced families who received the houses as part of the state government’s drive to ensure safe and dignified resettlement of IDPs across the state.

On Zulum’s approval, Borno’s Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement (RRR) built 580 houses, while a resettlement committee co-chaired by RRR Commissioner Engr Mustapha Gubio and Special Adviser on Sustainable Development, Partnerships, and Humanitarian Support, Dr. Mairo Mandara, oversaw house allocation and resettlement.

Governor Zulum delivered letters of allocation to families in a symbolic
gesture, and urged the resettlement committee to strive toward
relocating more displaced families from IDP camps to decent housing.

Zulum bemoaned the fact that IDP camps have been plagued by prostitution, drug abuse, and the exploitation of humanitarian interventions by citizens who come to the camps during the day primarily to obtain food rations intended for those with more severe needs, then return home at night, leaving the true IDPs with fewer food allocations.

According to the Governor, it was in this light that he ordered the closure of government IDP camps at the Mohammed Goni College of Islamic Legal Studies (MOGOLIS) and the NYSC permanent orientation camps, while displaced people were resettled. He explained that the policy intends to ensure that MOGOLIS is used to its full potential for academic purposes.

Engr Mustapha Gubio, Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement (RRR), said that a total of 4,967 households were recently resettled in Damasak, Auno, Bama, Konduga town, Jere, Maiduguri, and Marte, with houses assigned to them.

Primary school teachers, nurses, and security professionals were also given attention during housing assignments, according to Gubio, because of their importance in communities.

More resettlement housing projects were also underway or nearing completion in Kaleri, Warabe, Chibok, Ngarnam, Damboa, Marte, Dalori, and other localities, according to the commissioner.