The Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima has visited Gwoza Local Government Area where he promised that the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation of residential houses and public structures destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents will be completed by December this year.
He stated this at the palace of the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Mohammed Idrissa Timta while addressing thousands of the people who have since returned home including traditional rulers and religious leaders.
Gwoza is second to Bama local government area as regards places that suffered the same fate of destruction before it was declared as Boko Haram Caliphate in August, 2014.
Shettima, who had temporary relocated his office and spent one week in Bama to oversee/supervise the rebuilding works drove through Gwoza where he urged the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Dr. Babagana Umara Zulum to ensure that his ministry aligns with professional engineers/builders from Gwoza to immediately put the liberated town in good shape for the comfort of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, most of them have started returning home.
“I want to sympathize with you over the unfortunate calamities perpetrated by Boko Haram in recent past, we are here to tell you that as government, we will do everything possible to rebuild all your destroyed houses brick by brick.
“We have also come with assorted food items including 1500 bags of 25kg rice, 1500 bags of beans, 1000 cartoons of spaghetti, sugar, salt among other relief items.
“I urge some of the IDPs from Gwoza who are still residing in resettlement camps in Maiduguri and other places to please come back and join you, because, there is no any good place than home.
“I want to thank the federal government and the Chief of Army Staff as well as the entire officers and men under the ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ in the Northeast for their gallantry effort in degrading remnants of Boko Haram.
“My appeal to you all is to please give maximum support and cooperation to the military and the civilian JTF who are here with you to give you adequate security,” Shettima stated.
Before reaching Gwoza, the Governor had a brief stop-over in Pulka town of Gwoza, where he distributed relief items to over 2000 IDPs who fled from mountainous villages during the hit of the crisis.
In his welcome address, the District Head of Pulka, Lawan Usman Pulka told the Governor that the most confronting problem his people are facing is lack of drinking water, and appealed to him to provide them with boreholes.
Shettima however promised the people of Pulka that the state government will immediately deploy staff of the ministry of water resources to drill boreholes for them to have potable drinking water.
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