Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State between July and September 2023 spent the sum of N3,209,660,847.29 to run the “Governor’s office” according to the state budget performance report for the third quarter.
Zulum, who manages a state ravaged by Boko Haram terrorists where residents in some parts are still displaced, also spent N252million on foodstuffs, N143million on refreshments and N1.8billion on welfare packages, according to the report.
Also, both local and international trips by the Governor Zulum’s administration in three months was above N400million, according to Pages 19, 23 and 24 of the report, anaylsed by SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
“Foodstuffs and catering materials N252,300,000; Trips – local and international trips – N182,339,939, N227,041,145, N35,264,800 and N17,721,660; Refreshments N143,033,197; Welfare – N1,888,148,804.25,” the report noted.
The government further recorded that it spent N401,302,005.81 on the office of the Deputy Governor in three months, while it spent only N99,103,728.44 on State Emergency Management Agency.
Despite efforts by government and international organisations to stem the humanitarian crisis in Borno, the state still grapples with acute malnutrition, displacements, insurgency and insecurity affecting farming and fishing in parts of the state.
This is amid persistent attacks on communities and military units and other security personnel in the state by Boko Haram insurgents who have been ravaging the state for years.
A report published by the International Crisis Group on January 16, 2023 titled “Rethinking Resettlement and Return In Nigeria’s North East” stated that Borno has at least 1.8 million of yet-to-be-resettled Internally Displaced Persons who were forced out of their homes by Boko Haram terrorists and other insurgent groups.
According to the report, “The government agenda for the resettlement and return of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Nigeria’s Borno state is fraught with risk. A portion of those displaced by fighting involving jihadist militants have already resettled, but some 2.5 million remain uprooted from their homes, with 1.8 million of them in Borno.
“Lacking security, public services and cash, these people may feel impelled to engage economically with the insurgents. For the sake of both those at immediate peril and state security, authorities should suspend camp closures and focus on getting IDPs the support they need.”
However, according to the state’s budget performance record titled, ‘Borno State Government Budget Performance Report Quarter Q3 2023 (July-September)’, what the state government spent on running the Deputy Governor’s office in three months was more than three times higher than what it spent on emergency management in the same months.
“This Budget Performance Report for Borno State is prepared quarterly and issued within 4 weeks from the end of each quarter.
“This report includes the original approved budget and appropriation for the year 2023 against each organizational unit for each of the core economic classification of expenditures (Personnel, Overheads, Capital, and Others); the actual expenditures for the quarter Q3, accredited to each organisational unit, as well as the cumulative expenditures for year to date, and balances against each of the revenue and expenditure appropriations.
“This Budget Performance Report is produced by the Ministry of Budget and Planning and published on www.pfm.bo.gov.ng State website,” the budget performance report stated.
