Governor Zulum has no plan to connect government house Maiduguri with 33kva line from Damaturu – Commissioner 

Borno state Commissioner of Housing and Energy, Saleh Vungas, has denied a trending runor that Governor Babagana Zulum is planning to connect his office and home at the Government House alone with a dedicated 33kva line while other parts of the state capital remain in darkness.

An audio message being circulated in the social media alleged that the governror planned to selfishly corner a dedicated 33kva electricity line coming from Damaturu to serve his only office at the Government House Maiduguri.

A claim his commissioner said was not only ridiculous but also “a malicious falsehood that must be dismissed”.  

Mr Vungas made the denial in an exclusive interview with The Humanitarian Times while reacting to the audio file being circulated on the social media in which two men were heard discussing about an alleged plot by the governor to corner a dedicated 33Kva line coming from Yobe state to his office at a time when the entire city of Maiduguri has been in darkness for about eight months now. 

The audio sounded like a phone conversation between two male voices who were heard in expressing their condemnation of the alleged plot, even as they said they both said they were disappointed with the purported plan to light up the government house using a cable coming from the neighbouring state capital. 

Mr Vungas who was giving an update on the ongoing efforts to connect back the city of Maiduguri eight months after insurgents attacked the high tension line that takes electricity to the state capital, said the governor has never had such selfish plan “and will never do that”. 

The Commissioner of Housing and Energy confirmed that there was indeed an ongoing electrification project that is bringing yet another source of electricity – a 33Kva line – to Maiduguri from Ngamdu , a border town to Yobe state. 

“The governor lobbied for that line with a view to provide electricity to low density communities along the highway and some suburbs of Maiduguri, who have no electricity from the national grid” the Commissioner said. 

“This intervention project ne that was destroyed by Boko Haram is being fixed. 

“The work and has gone far and we were given a clear directive by His Excellency Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, that the light that will come through that line must be dedicated to low-density communities and residential areas and not the highbrow location. And that decision was made by the governor to solve the power problems faced by the fast increasing size of the state capital. 

He said the project is being handled by the state’s rural electrification board (REB)

“Those peddling such rumour are detractors and must be ignored because the number one priority of His Excellency is the ordinary people of Borno state and not his comfort or interest. It is rather unfortunate that such wicked and distracting rumour is allowed to peddle in our society. 

On the ongoing reconnection of the 330kva lines, the Commissioner said “work has gone far and I can say we are at about 75 percent stage of completion of the work. 

Borno state capital was plunged into darkness since mid January when insurgents attacked the electricity line conveying 330kva high tension light to city of Maiduguri.