Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has called on the Federal Government to protect assets and heavy equipment belonging to the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA), warning against attempts to dispose of serviceable machinery as scrap metal.
The governor raised the concern amid reports that some individuals were seeking to auction equipment located at CBDA facilities and booster stations across northern Borno.
The CBDA was established by the Federal Government to harness the agricultural and water resources of the Lake Chad Basin and promote irrigation farming, livestock production, water supply and electricity generation.
The governor noted that the authority’s management was recently reconstituted by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to revive its mandate and accelerate agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods in Borno State and the North-East.
In a statement by the Directorate of Information, Ministry of Information and Internal Security, Borno State, Zulum expressed concern over what he described as attempts by ‘unscrupulous elements’ to remove valuable equipment from CBDA facilities under the guise of scrap metal auctioning.
‘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 Federal Government procured this equipment at a high cost, and it is 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 said.
According to the governor, the equipment reportedly targeted for auction includes irrigation stations, booster plants, drilling machines, electricity-generation facilities, tractors, bulldozers, combined harvesters, pipelines and crop-processing equipment.
He warned that removing the equipment would amount to dismantling the authority’s operational capacity and undermining efforts to strengthen agriculture and rural development in the state.
Zulum also linked illegal metal scavenging in parts of Borno to insecurity, alleging connections between the trade and insurgent groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest and Timbuktu Triangle.
He said allowing the sale or vandalisation of public assets could undermine ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to combat insurgency, resettle displaced persons and revitalise agriculture.
The governor urged the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to intervene and halt any planned auction of CBDA assets.
‘I call on the Presidency and Federal Ministry of Water Resources to prevail on the LCBA to shelve the wrongful idea of auctioning equipment, assets and facilities of the CBDA. I also call on our military and law enforcement agencies to be vigilant in the CBDA area of responsibility and the state at large to ensure that our public resources are not compromised or vandalised’, Zulum stated.
