Tackling Flood Risks: Zulum’s Committee to Oversee Riverbank Buffer Zones in Maiduguri
By Tada Juthan, Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has set up a demarcation committee on boundaries and development along the Maiduguri riverbanks.
The two rivers that crisscross Maiduguri metropolis and two other local council areas comprise Yedzaram and Ngadda.
Inaugurating the committee, led by Liman Mustapha over the weekend in Maiduguri, the governor, represented by Executive Secretary of the Borno State Geographic Information Service (BOGIS), Adam Bababe, disclosed: “Your five-point terms of reference are to review the current buffer zones along the banks of the two rivers, identify and mark all developed property that falls on the identified zones, and provide us with detailed plans of the riverbanks and buffer zones.”
The other terms of reference include recommending any measure in protecting and planning along the riverbanks of Maiduguri metropolis and its environs.
Additionally, the agency boss said that the inauguration of the committee followed the September 10, 2024, floods that destroyed people’s lives and property, including critical infrastructure in the metropolis.
He noted that residents living along the riverbanks were warned against building houses and other structures since 2020.Bababe also lamented that after the recent floods in Maiduguri, some people began to build their houses and other structures along the same flooded riverbanks.
He listed the riverbanks of Gwange I & II, Fori, Gambouru, and the Moro-Moro communities that defied BOGIS’s warnings against living there.
The Executive Secretary continued: “With our mandate there should be no building of houses and other structures along the buffer zones,” warning that illegal buildings that were marked by the agency are to be demolished with no compensations from the state government.
He further disclosed that most of the residents living in the buffer zones don’t have land titles, as over 1,300 houses were marked in 2021 for demolition by BOGIS.
While thanking the governor for serving the people, Chairman of the committee, Mustapha, said, “We’re going to work professionally and in accordance with the five-point terms of reference on demarcations of boundaries and buffer zones.”
He added that as the committee has two weeks to submit its report to the governor, he urged public members to cooperate with the committee members on the demarcations of boundaries and land development plans.
1. “Governor Zulum Sets Up Boundary Demarcation Committee to Safeguard Maiduguri’s Riverbanks”
2. “Borno State Launches Committee to Address Illegal Structures Along Flood-Prone Riverbanks”
3. “New Initiative in Maiduguri: Governor Zulum Targets Development, Safety on Riverbank Zones”
4. “Borno Government Moves to Enforce Buffer Zones Along Maiduguri’s Flooded Riverbanks”
5. “Maiduguri’s Riverbanks to Get a Makeover: Boundary Committee Begins Work”
