(Babagana Zulum. Photo Credit: Premuim Times)
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has approved the employment of 100 unemployed graduates from Biu Local Government Area as part of efforts to curb youth restiveness, political thuggery and other social vices in the state.
The governor announced the approval on Tuesday during a courtesy visit to the Emir of Biu, Alhaji Mustapha Mustapha II.
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by his spokesperson, Dauda Iliya.
Zulum was in Southern Borno for the official flag-off of the 2026 wet farming season, the commencement of fertiliser sales at government-approved subsidised rates for smallholder and returnee farmers, as well as other empowerment programmes.
The governor said incidents of thuggery had reduced significantly since his administration came into office, but stressed that creating employment opportunities for young people remained the most sustainable way of tackling the challenge.
He said each local government area in the state would have 50 graduates employed, while larger councils, including Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Jere, Bama, Askira/Uba and Gwoza, would have 100 beneficiaries apiece.
He said the visit was for the flag-off of the wet farming season and the sale of fertiliser at subsidised rates, expressing gratitude to the people of Biu for their overwhelming support and the warm reception they had always extended to the government.
He said empowering unemployed youths was essential to preventing them from being exploited for criminal and political purposes, adding that it would amount to a great disservice to the youth to allow them to continue engaging in thuggery without empowering them, noting that the children of prominent politicians, governors, senators, commissioners or even councillors are hardly ever found involved in political thuggery.
The governor also warned against the vandalisation of public infrastructure, particularly electricity facilities, saying anyone caught engaging in such acts would face the full weight of the law.
He urged the Emir of Biu and other community leaders to support the government’s efforts to tackle drug abuse, gangsterism and other social vices, telling the monarch that rising cases of drug abuse, gangsterism and other social vices needed to be addressed if a better society was to be handed down to the next generation.
He said the government would continue to invest in its youth, directing Biu Local Government to identify 100 unemployed graduates, preferably those who studied health-related courses, English, Mathematics and Physics, especially among those involved in political thuggery, saying the government was ready to offer them employment opportunities.
Zulum also disclosed that the running mate to the APC governorship candidate, Engr. Mustapha Gubio, would be unveiled the following week, noting that 27 aspirants had indicated interest in the position. He called on residents of the state to continue praying for the emergence of the most suitable candidate.
