Borno Govt. reconstructs 60 % of houses destroyed in Bama–Commissioner

The Borno Government said on Tuesday that it had reconstructed 60 per cent of the estimated 10,000 private houses destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents in Bama Local Government Area.
Babagana Umara , the Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement , stated this while speaking with newsmen in Bama , headquarters of Bama Local Government Area.
Umara said that the state government had also reconstructed hospitals, schools and other public buildings in readiness for the home coming of the displaced people.

“So far so good, we have about 60 per cent of the private homes reconstructed. “In addition, hospitals , especially the maternity hospital in Bama , have been completely reconstructed.
“Even public schools have been reconstructed through an intervention by the Victims Support Fund, and all the reconstruction have been completed,” he said.
Umara expressed optimism that the reconstruction work would be completed before the May 28 deadline, set by the state government for the completion of work.
“Going by the pace of work therefore , I have no doubt that we will meet the May 28 deadline of resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) wishing to return home.
“This has to be voluntarily for only those who want to return in line with the Kampala Convention,” he said.
Umara lauded the Nigerian military for the efforts in clearing the Boko Haram insurgents from the area.
“I want to commend the military for providing an enabling environment for us to do the reconstruction work, without them it will have been impossible. Since we started work last year , we have had no threats or security problem, we thank them for this,” he said.
Umara explained that about 4,000 workers were involved in the reconstruction work.
“We have about 4,000 workers on site working in Bama. This large number of people is enough to experiment how people will live in the town after their eventual return. I believe that the military is on top of the situation and doing everything possible to restore peace all over the state”, he said.
He said that government was also reconstructing communities destroyed in other parts of the state.
“Apart from Bama , we are working in Damboa,Gamboru- Ngala, Mobbar and other places. You are aware of the fact that we have finished reconstruction of Konduga LGA and the IDPs have returned home, so also is Mafa LGA,” Umara said.

He said that the government was also reconstructing structures in Chibok and Askira -Uba local government areas.
“We are doing lots of reconstruction in Chibok, Askira, Kwajafa,Kimba and many more communities ravaged by the insurgency.
“Our main constraint is paucity of funds, the volume of work requires large sum of money which is beyond the capability of the state government,” Umara said.
He appealed to the Federal Government and donor organisations to lend a helping hand towards actualising the dream to reconstruct the state and resettle IDPs back home.