Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has called on the Federal Government to safeguard critical assets belonging to the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA), warning that attempts to dispose of serviceable equipment under the guise of scrap metal auction could undermine agricultural recovery and economic development in the Lake Chad region.
Zulum’s call comes amid growing controversy surrounding allegations of irregular asset disposal, revenue diversion and financial misconduct within the authority, allegations that have also attracted the attention of the Senate Committee on Water Resources and Sanitation.
The governor, in a statement issued by the Directorate of Information, Ministry of Information and Internal Security, Borno State, expressed concern over reports that some individuals were attempting to remove operational equipment from CBDA facilities across northern Borno.
“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,” Zulum said.
The governor noted that the Federal Government established the CBDA to harness the agricultural and water resources potential of the Lake Chad Basin through irrigation farming, livestock production, water supply and rural development programmes.
According to him, the recent reconstitution of the authority’s management by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources was intended to revive the organisation’s mandate and support food security, agricultural development and rural livelihoods across the North-East.
Zulum listed some of the equipment allegedly being targeted for disposal as irrigation facilities, booster stations, drilling machines, electricity-generation equipment, tractors, bulldozers, combine harvesters, pipelines and crop-processing machines.
He warned that removing such assets would effectively cripple the authority’s operational capacity and undermine efforts to revitalise agriculture in the region.
The governor further linked illegal metal scavenging to insecurity in Borno, noting that scrap metal activities had previously been associated with criminal networks and insurgent elements operating around the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest and the Timbuktu Triangle.
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