The good people of Borno State have once again brought us into office with a unanimous consent. We are most grateful to the people of Borno State from the South, to the North and Central parts of the State, who spoke in one strong voice, to elect mainly APC candidates at the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections and last Saturday’s, April 11 Governorship and State Assembly elections.
“Words cannot adequately convey our depth of gratitude not just for the massive votes, but also, for the immeasurable confidence the people of Borno State have reposed in our administration. Insha Allah we will not let down the people of Borno.
“I want to use this opportunity to specifically thank our parents, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters from Gwoza, Askira-Uba, Guzamala, Marte, Mobbar, Dikwa, Bama, Monguno, Nganzai, Ngala, Mafa, Kala-Balge, Kukawa and Konduga.
” These sons and daughters of Borno have shown Great Spirit of brevity, patriotism and tough democratic sacrifice. The people of these local government areas have lost parents, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends. They have lost their homes, lost their sources of livelihood from farmlands to shops and offices. They were forcefully confined to living in camps for no fault of theirs.” governor shettima said.
The governor stated that despite the pains of losing their loved ones, the agony of homelessness and the torture of being turned from givers to beggars, “the people of these local government areas refused to abandon their democratic rights, they stood firmly, trekked for tens of kilometers in some case, and under strange circumstances, they mobilized to cast their votes. These internally displaced persons are part of the real heroes of the democratic change Nigeria is facing today.
” We are grateful to these Internally Displaced sons and daughters of Borno. Let me quickly direct the State Emergency Management Agency and committees saddled with the responsibilities of taking care of all our IDP camps to ensure that on no account should they slow down in providing the needs of these displaced persons. We were not taking care of them mainly to get their votes; we were taking care of them as a matter of our obligations towards them and to meet their fundamental rights as citizens in distress, who are entitled to being catered for. SEMA and committees on IDPs must therefore, ensure that no existing welfare activity for IDPs is slowed or stopped because elections are over. The stay of IDPs in camps will insha Allah not be longer than necessary, we will do everything humanly possible to get them back to their reconstructed homes and communities as soon as possible. ” Shettima said in his accptance speech
