Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has facilitated the execution of eight projects including a school, orphanage, clinic, shops, staff quarters, sports ground, charity office and a Juma’at mosque by the Qatar Charity Foundation in Maiduguri.
Laying the foundation for the construction of the projects cited in Bolori on Sunday, Zulum said, “It gives me pleasure to stand here today to lay the foundation for the construction of an integrated school, orphanage, clinic, and many other projects by the Qatar Charity Foundation in Maiduguri. I have been working towards this since 2015, and today we have seen the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The governor recounted the devastation caused by over a decade of Boko Haram insurgency when several people were killed and many properties destroyed.
Zulum said: “We have identified a total of over 100,000 orphans resulting from Boko Haram crisis. These figures are the official ones; the unofficial figures are even higher than this.
He added that: “In the past seven years, we had about 3.2 million displacements, with about 50% being resettled and about 1.2 million still in the IDP camps. 432 health centres were destroyed, 900,000 houses were destroyed and over 5,000 classrooms were destroyed.”
Zulum expressed gratitude to the Qatar Charity Foundation for choosing Borno State to execute numerous projects that will have a direct impact on the lives of the people.
He said: “What you are doing today will, In sha Allah, have a positive impact on our society. On behalf of the people and government of Borno State, I want to express my deep appreciation to the Qatari Foundation for this giant initiative. Be assured that the government of Borno State, under my leadership, will collaborate with you to ensure the success of this project.”
Earlier in his address, Nigeria’s representative for Qatar Charity, Sheikh Hamdin Bin Abdul, said the project will expand to all 27 Local Government Areas of Borno.
He said: “It gives us great pleasure to execute projects here in Borno. We thank the Governor for all the support. Insha Allah, we will use this centre to cover all the local governments in Borno State.”
The Qatar Charity’s Nigerian representative also stressed that the foundation will work in several sectors including water resources, social housing, economic empowerment, health, education, and social services for widows and orphans.
Meanwhile, Zulum has approved 2.5 hectares of land for use by Qatar Charity to execute several projects in Borno. The governor presented the certificate of occupancy (CofO) granting legal right for the use of the land.
The governor gave assurance of providing all the support needed for Qatar Charity to meet its objectives, while directing the Secretary to the State Government to grant express approval for all the requests made by the Qataris.
He said: “Let me direct the Secretary to Borno State Government to give them maximum cooperation. Whatever they need, immediately grant their request before even forwarding the papers to me.”
Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri
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