Insurgency sapping the joy of democracy, says senator

Alhaji Ahmed Zanna, the senator representing Borno Central Senatorial District, has said that the country’s battle with terrorism has denied citizens of Borno State the dividends of democracy.

Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, Zanna blamed successive administrations of the state for failing to turn around the fortunes of Borno, as 15 years of uninterrupted civilian rule have brought no significant achievements in the state.

“Since the advent of democratic rule in 1999, our people have seen nothing as dividends of democracy,” Zanna lamented.

“Take a tour of all the 27 local government areas in the state, and you will never see five blocks of classrooms built by government from 1999 till date. The previous government must be held responsible for the problem. If you see any new school project, it must have been built by the UBE.”

He alleged that the administration of former governor, Ali Modu-Sheriff did not contribute money to the ministry of education as its counterpart funding for the development of new projects.

“I think it is only the present governor that has paid the counterpart funds, and they [UBE] have started building some new projects,” he continued.

“All foreign investments, especially from donor agencies, stopped during the tenure of Modu-Sherif due to non-payment of counterpart funds. “There was a time we quantified the amount the state lost, and we discovered it was about N29 billion.”

He claimed that he has done a lot towards the development of the state, far beyond any other legislator in the state.

“As for me, I have done my best in the last few years,” he said.

“If you put together all the projects executed by senators and members of the House of Representative from Borno State in the last couple of years, they will not match the ones I have executed.

“Even this year, I secured N4 billion for the reconstruction of the Maiduguri-Bama Road from Sure-P funds, and I am in the process of securing funds for the Gamboru/Ngala Road. The only person I can commend is Senator Ali Ndume. He has done a lot, but as for the rest, I cannot say.”