Senior LG officials absent from work as Zulum visits Boko Haram hotspots

Some ranking officials of six local government areas in Borno were absent from work when Babagana Zulum, the state governor, visited the councils on Wednesday.

The governor was said to have paid an unscheduled visit to Chibok, Bama, Gwoza, Damboa, Konduga and Askira-Uba LGAs before returning to Maiduguri, the state capital, on Thursday.

Most of the LGAs are known to often experience attacks from Boko Haram insurgents.

The state government recently directed top government officials and senior civil servants to report to work after easing its lockdown imposed on the state to curb the spread of COVID-19.

But a statement from the governor’s office said most of the secretariats were empty when Zulum visited the areas in southern and central Borno.

“Even before COVID-19 outbreak, senior officials at local government areas in Borno are notorious for abandoning their local government to operate in Maiduguri only to return there for few days when FAAC allocations are received, or when they know the Governor is heading there,” it said.