Insurgency Has Reduced To 90% In Borno, Says Gov. Zulum

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on Sunday said the Federal Government and security forces have succeeded in containing 90 per cent of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East.

Nigeria has been battling insurgency for over a decade with several people killed and many others kidnapped in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

Zulum, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, admitted that there were still some pockets of insurgents operating in his state.

“As of now, insurgency has been reduced to over 90 per cent in Borno State but this did not happen in a day.,” the governor said.

“We still have pockets of Boko Haram, especially in the fringes of Lake Chad as well as in the Sambisa Games Reserve and the Mandara Hills.

“Recently, there was an attack on Chadian soldiers by Boko Haram. Because of this, the Chadian authorities have taken a very strong decision to repel the Boko Haram/insurgents in their territory.

“They have succeeded in sending them away and most of them are now in Nigeria, especially in Borno State.”

To Zulum, the insurgency started in 2009 with Nigeria battling terrorism in the North-East for the past 15 years.

He commended the efforts of the military and members of the Civilian Join Task Force as well as the people of Borno State for their resilience.

The governor believes that the region would witness more improvement in the next two years as troops work tirelessly to secure the state.

He expressed hope that the issue of terrorism would be crushed within the next two years as Nigeria collaborates with neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Mali.

During the programme, he also spoke on the controversial tax reform bills presented to the National Assembly in October by President Bola Tinubu.

He explained why the northern governors advised President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the controversial tax reform bills, citing more time for consultation.

He argued that contrary to some insinuations in some quarters, the northern governors are not against President Tinubu’s administration.

Zulum explained that if the bill scales through the National Assembly, states would be shortchanged as only Lagos State would be the main beneficiary of the policy.

According to him, the north cannot be against Tinubu as over 60 per cent of his votes in the 2023 general elections came from the region.

In October, President Tinubu asked the National Assembly to assent to the pass the bills into law,

The bills are the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024 -SB.583; The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) BILL, 2024- SB.584; The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024-SB.585; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 – SB.586.

But on November 28, the tax reform bills passed a second reading in the Senate.