By Danjuma Amodu
Borno State is moving to shut down the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Konduga as Governor Babagana Zulum pushes ahead with a voluntary resettlement drive aimed at returning displaced communities to dignified and permanent homes.
The governor announced the plan during a visit to Konduga on Sunday, days after closing the Bama IDP camp — the largest outside Maiduguri — and with preparations underway for the closure of the Gwoza camp.
Zulum said no displaced person would be forced to return, and that engagement with communities would precede the process.
“We are not carrying out the resettlement process immediately; we are here to discuss with the IDPs so that in the next four months they will be resettled in a dignified manner. I believe you heard from the IDPs that they are willing to return home. Return shall be voluntary, not by force,” Zulum said.
The governor also inspected ongoing housing projects at the Amarwa resettlement city and in Maiwa, Mafa Local Government Area, where the state government is building new homes alongside primary healthcare centres, water facilities and other basic infrastructure for returning families.
The resettlement initiative is part of Borno’s broader strategy to rebuild communities devastated by insurgency, restore livelihoods, and close IDP camps in a phased, humane manner.
Governor Zulum was accompanied on the tour by Engr. Bukar Talba, member representing Bama/Ngala/Kala-Balge Federal Constituency; Hon. Bukar Modu, Konduga State Assembly member; Commissioner for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Sugun Mai Mele; and other senior government officials.
