The Borno State Government, has declared to consolidate and sustain Governor Babagana Zulum’s peacebuilding and recovery projects for the socio-economic development of the state.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Bukar Tijjani, made the declaration on Thursday in Maiduguri during the 2027 Budget stakeholders’ consultative Town Hall meeting held at the Musa Usman Secretariat complex.

The SSG, who represented at the event, said: “The 2026 budget was designed to address the priorities and needs of citizens, workers, pensioners and other stakeholders across critical sectors.”

Tijjani identified health, education, infrastructure and the resettlement of citizens displaced by insecurity to their ancestral communities as the critical sectors receiving attention.of Governor Zulum in the last seven years of his administration.

According to him, the 2027 budget will build on the gains achieved so far, while responding to emerging needs in the 27 Local Government Areas of the state..

He, therefore welcomed all the stakeholders to present meaningful and development-oriented priorities that will have direct impact on the lives and wellbeing of the people.

He added that the government was committed to participatory budgeting, adding that inputs from communities and stakeholders would help shape its development priorities.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Bukar Dalatu said the town hall meeting was aimed at ensuring that community needs were adequately captured in the 2027 Budget.

Dalatu added that the consultations provided residents with an opportunity to identify urgent needs in their communities and make direct inputs into the state’s budget planning process.

The commossioner said recommendations from the consultations would guide the government’s priorities as it prepared the 2027 budget.

He said similar consultations were being convened across communities in the state to enable residents identify projects and services they wanted the government to accord priorities.

In his presentation, the Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Borno Council, Mr Abdulkareem Haruna, urged the government to prioritise recruitment and empowerment of information officers across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Haruna said strengthening information officers would enhance effective communication and implementation of government programmes and budgets.

He, therefore called for an enabling environment for state-owned media organisations and the establishment of community radio stations across the state.

Similarly, Yusuf Tom, the State Coordinator, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), urged the government to p investment in nutrition.

He said inceased investments in nutrition would contribute to healthier children, stronger families and a more productive people in the state.