From Dauda R PamMaidugri
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno state has undertaken a midnight headcount at Mohammed Goni College of Islamic Legal Studies, housing IDPs from the Abadam local government area of northern Borno.
Immediately on arrival, the Governor reportedly sealed the entrance of the college and supervised a headcount to identify the actual number of IDPs to put a stop to rampant cases of dubious residents who spend day times at IDP camps to share in the food items for IDPs and at night return to their homes.
This was contained in a statement issued by the S.A media, Mallam Isa Gusau and made available to the media.
According to the statement, Governor Zulum’s mission, which ended at about 1:00 am, discovered that out of the 1,000 households in the records of humanitarian officials, 650 households were ghosts while 450 households were found to be the real IDPs in the camp.
Accompanied by NEMA official, Air Commodore MT Abdullahi, two commissioners assisted the GOVERNOR to conduct the midnight census.
He said in a humanitarian set up a household would normally consist of at least six persons, who are either related through families or chosen to stay together for the purpose of receiving household aids.
Officials who were part of the midnight headcount said Governor Zulum was not averse to approving support for any citizen who may be vulnerably in need of food since there is a committee doing that, however, the Governor is vehemently opposed to some residents making dubious claims in order to take what is meant for IDPs as well as benefiting from other existing welfare packages targetted at non IDPs.
