Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has held a meeting with the President of the Republic of Chad, Idriss Déby.
Also in attendance at the meeting held on Wednesday at the Presidential Palace in N’Djamena, were the Chadian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abakar Chahaimi, and the Nigerian Ambassador to Chad, Zannah Kolo.
In a statement titled, ‘Zulum meets Chad’s President Deby over thousands of Borno refugees’, the Borno governor said the meeting discussed the repatriation of Nigerian refugees, who fled to Chad after they were displaced by the Boko Haram terrorists’ group.
It quoted Zulum as saying, “I am here in Chad to see our people currently taking refuge at The Darsalam camp in Baga Sola.
“We met them yesterday (Tuesday). Our people are doing very well, the Government of Chad is taking care of them. So, I am here to express appreciation to the President for his generosity towards our people here in Chad.”
The Borno State governor also said efforts were being made to bring refugees willing to be safely resettled in different parts of the state.
“Before today’s meeting with the Chadian president, Zulum crossed over the Lake Chad on Tuesday to the refugee camp in Baga Sola, interacted with citizens, and supervised the distribution of N50 million to 5,000 families as part of social protection,” the statement added.
Following the killing of 43 rice farmers by Boko Haram members in November, Governor Zulum made six recommendations to the Federal Government to defeat the insurgents, including the engagement of the services of the governments of Chad, Cameroon, and the Niger Republic as well as the services of mercenaries to defeat the Boko Haram terrorists.
Zulum had also recently received a delegation of the Cameroonian military at the Government House in Maiduguri, the state capital.
