Shettima inaugurates, orders council chairmen’s relocation to IDPs’ camps

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima of has directed the 27 inaugurated council chairmen to commence operating from 24 rehabilitated secretariat complexes and temporary ones, while three councils should operate from Maiduguri metropolis because of security challenges in the affected councils of Abadam, Mobbar and Guzamala.

Shettima gave the directives yesterday while swearing in 27 Caretaker Committee Chairmen at the Government House, Maiduguri.He said the three affected councils are to
establish and operate from “satellite secretariats” within Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri.

The emergency measures, according to him, were to lay a solid foundation for the return of civil authority in the liberated communities and in response to government’s post-insurgency rehabilitation and resettlement programme.

He said: “The chairmen of the following local government areas should immediately work with the Deputy Governor, commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) and our security establishments to start operating either from their reconstructed council secretariats or to set up satellite secretariats in IDPs’ camps.

“The site of secretariats should also have the highest population of citizens at the headquarters of their respective local government areas.”Shettima insisted that the council secretariats, whether at permanent or satellite locations, must be fully functional, with chairmen and council officials operating from there and readily available and accessible to the people they are appointed to serve.

He noted that Bama, Marte, Gwoza and Kukawa councils are to operate from two separate secretariats complexes in the state, each with a senior council officials stationed there, while chairmen must rotate their presence in-between the two secretariats.

Bama should have satellite secretariats in Bama town and one in Maiduguri to serve nearly 30,000 indigenes at the IDP camp in Bama and the hundreds of thousands of citizens living at IDP camps and host communities in Maiduguri, with its chairman
operating in Bama town.

Marte would operate two satellite camps, one in Maiduguri and the other in Monguno, where many indigenes of Marte are living, with the Chairman operating in Monguno.Gwoza should also operate two satellite camps, one in Pulka, which currently has the highest amount of Gwoza indigenes and another satellite secretariat in Gwoza
town, with the Chairman operating from Gwoza.

Kukawa is to operate two satellite camps, one in Baga, which has high number of its indigenes and another one in Monguno to serve those living in Maiduguri.The governor also directed the opening of satellite secretariats within IDP camps in Maiduguri for use by Abadam, Mobbar and Guzamala councils due to military operations around the council headquarters of Mallam Fatori, Damasak and Gudumbali.

Shettima warned that gone are the days when council chairmen operated from their rented homes in Maiduguri, noting that now that indigenes live in most of the council areas as a result of military success, there has to be a new system in place.

He continued: “I will hold chairmen responsible if I hear any complaints, whether of shortage or lack of food, water, access to primary healthcare or absence of teachers at any IDP camp, unless it is evident that chairmen made frantic efforts to bring such cases to the notice of appropriate authorities, and in which case, the right persons will be held accountable.”