The Borno state government says it spends N130 million as monthly allowances for the Civilian Joint Task Force and hunters that assist the military and other security agencies fight insurgents in LGAs.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Emirates Affairs, Sugun Mai-Mele, made this known on Monday in Maiduguri when a National delegation of the All Local Government Association of Nigeria (ALGON) paid him a visit in his office.

Mr Mai-Mele said the government also provided vehicles and other working tools to the groups, whose knowledge of the terrain had helped the military to recover and maintain security in affected areas.

In addition to the resettlement of displaced persons and restoration of civil authorities in local government areas.

According to Mr Mai-Mele, when the present administration came into office in 2019, many local government areas were inaccessible, while the few that were accessible had no functional local government administration.

He said the government had within the past two years rehabilitated burnt and vandalized public infrastructures, and conducted local government elections so as to have functional administrations at the third tier of government.

He explained that resettlement had begun in earnest in all affected local government areas, with the exception of Abadam and Guzamala, adding that the delay was because of ongoing military operations on the fringes of the Lake Chad areas.

The commissioners said that all those who voluntarily resettled in their recovered communities were given food items with an empowerment package of N100,000 for each head of household and N50,000 for married women.

He explained that the resumption of farming activities by the returnees, who recorded bumper harvests, had reduced cases of dependency on government and NGOs for handouts.

Earlier, the National President of ALGON, Kolade Alabi, represented by his Chief of Staff, Itiako Ikpokpo, said they were in Borno as part of a nationwide tour to assess the situation of contracts on primary healthcare facilities, the association awarded in 2005.

“This is a national assignment to go round to do an audit of primary healthcare facilities that were awarded in 2005. There is need to know their current situation”, Alabi said.

He lauded the Zulum administration for conducting local government elections, for the first time in 13 years, and the level of development recorded in all sectors in the state.

Mr Alabi urged the ministry for local government in Borno to intervene in facilitating the payment of N500,000 monthly dues of local governments to ALGON to sustain its operations.

(NAN)