By Oluwaseun Sonde
Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu has hailed his counterpart from Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum while at the tour of 3,000 hectare rice farm in Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno on Wednesday.
The mega farm which is one of Zulum’s ongoing programmes in Agriculture, located at Damasak, on the fringes of lake chad and it was one of Boko Haram’s strongholds before liberated by the Nigerian Military.
During the tour, Kebbi State Governor addressing farmers, said, “Let me say how honoured I am to be standing here in Damasak to support my brother Zulum.
"When he told us the big story, I asked him, ‘can you take me along with you (to Damasak)?’ We always celebrate him (Zulum) and appreciate what he is doing for Borno State and the entire Nigeria.
"Zulum's doggedness and courage are why I joined him in coming to see this (farm in Damasak), among other efforts that he is doing in returning normalcy to Borno State and indeed normalcy to Nigeria”, Bagudu said.
Kebbi Governor further said while met with President Muhammadu Buhari and told him about the Borno's rice farm, the President expressed his happiness with the news.
In his response, Governor Zulum explained that over 30,000 hectares have so far been cultivated across the state.
He cited the reactivation of irrigation farming programmes around lake Alau, Baga, Nguro Soye in Bama and some liberated communities across the local government areas.
Zulum said the activation of irrigation activities have increased Borno’s local sourcing of vegetables rather than having to bring from other parts of the country.
The two governors returned to Maiduguri from where Bagudu departed.
The governors traveled to Damasak alongside former Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Tijjani, who played a key role in some of Borno’s agricultural programmes.
There were the Zulum’s special adviser on agriculture, Ali Audu, and a director of irrigation, Mohammed Shettima.
Comments