Buhari lands in Borno — fifth visit to the state in six years

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Maiduguri, Borno state capital, for a one-day official visit.

This is the first visit in 2021 the president has made to Borno since February 2020 when he was booed by some residents in Maiduguri.

He visited the state in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Borno, which is the worst-hit by the insurgency, is among the most visited state by the president.

According to NAN, the president’s visit is to assess security situation in the north-east.

He will address troops at Maimalari Cantonment and also inaugurate some completed federal and state government projects.

Some of the projects to be inaugurated include the 4,000 housing units for displaced persons out of the 10,000 units being constructed by the federal government in Borno and the senate building of Borno state University, Maiduguri.

Others are the Borno state Vocational Enterprising Institute, Muna; Government Day Technical Secondary School, Njimtilo; Dr Babagana Wakilbe Memorial School, Abbaganaram Maternal Healthcare Centre, and the Jiddari-Polo road and drainage.

Babagana Zulum, governor of the state, had ahead of the visit asked residents to give Buhari a rousing welcome.

Although movement was restricted in some areas of Maiduguri for security reasons, people still came out in large numbers to welcome the president.

Upon news of the visit on Wednesday, some members of the Borno state house of assembly asked residents of the state to strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocol.

The lawmakers frowned at the plan by Ali-Modu Sherif, former Borno governor, to fly in from Chad for the president’s visit, instead of proceeding on seven-day self-isolation mandated for travellers coming into the country.

They said Kashim Shettima, senator representing Borno central, recently returned to the country from the UK and he is presently self-isolating.