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Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has pledged to hand over a more stable, secure, and economically prosperous state to the next administration as he continues efforts to consolidate gains made in governance and security.

Zulum gave the assurance on when he received prominent sons and daughters of Gubio Local Government Area at the Government House, Maiduguri, alongside the APC governorship candidate for 2027, Engr. Mustapha Gubio.

The delegation, led by elder statesman Alhaji Gambo Gubio, included top political figures, retired security officers, and former public office holders from the area.

The governor said despite persistent security challenges in the state, his administration remains committed to strengthening stability and deepening development across all sectors.

“Security is the most difficult issue. Insha Allah, before I leave, the situation will be better than now. I will hand over a more stable, more prosperous, and more secure government to Engr. Mustapha Gubio, Insha Allah,” Zulum said.

He stressed that sustaining progress is often more difficult than achieving it, urging continued prayers and support for the APC governorship candidate.

“What matters is not just success; managing success is more difficult than achieving success itself,” he said.

Zulum also described Engr. Mustapha Gubio as a long-time associate with strong character and leadership qualities.

“I have known him for the past 26 years since he was a student at the University of Maiduguri. His integrity is evident; he is humane, very gentle, and composed,” he said.

The governor recalled the difficult early days of his administration in 2019, noting the sacrifices made in addressing insecurity and humanitarian crises in the state.

“When I took over the leadership of the state, in the first 55 days of my administration, I saw my children only three times. The first four years were really challenging,” he said.

He expressed appreciation to the delegation for the visit and reaffirmed his commitment to continued progress in the state.

Leader of the delegation, Alhaji Gambo Gubio, thanked the governor for his support and described the APC governorship candidate as a worthy successor.

He also commended Zulum’s achievements in security, infrastructure, and governance, saying the governor had made significant progress in stabilising the state.

The visit was attended by top government officials, including the APC State Chairman, Secretary to the State Government, commissioners, and special advisers.

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The Senate has asked the Federal Government to impose an outright ban on the importation of foreign textile materials as part of efforts to revive Nigeria’s struggling textile industry and stimulate local cotton production.

The upper chamber also urged the Federal Government, through the Ministries of Agriculture and Trade and Investment, to take urgent steps to resuscitate textile manufacturing across the country, particularly along the Kaduna-Kano industrial corridor, citing its potential to create jobs and address rising youth unemployment and insecurity.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled ‘urgent need to revive the textile industries in Nigeria with particular reference to the Kaduna-Kano Axis’, sponsored by Senator Sunday Katung (APC, Kaduna South) and co-sponsored by several lawmakers across party and regional lines.

Presenting the motion, Senator Katung recalled that Nigeria’s first large-scale textile manufacturing mill was established in Kaduna in 1957, a development that later spread to other regions and contributed significantly to industrial growth and employment generation.

According to him, government intervention policies in the 1960s and 1970s, including restrictions on textile imports, encouraged investment in local production and helped the industry flourish.

He noted that by the late 1970s and 1980s, Nigeria had about 167 textile mills employing more than 500,000 workers directly, making the sector the second-largest employer of labour after the Federal Government.

Katung further lamented the sector’s steady decline, attributing it to obsolete equipment, inadequate capital, inconsistent power supply and policy challenges.

The senator expressed concern that more than six decades after the industry’s golden era, Nigeria’s textile sector has deteriorated significantly, leaving once-thriving industrial facilities abandoned and reducing the industry to one of the weakest segments of the nation’s manufacturing sector.

Lawmakers who supported the motion underpinned the need for deliberate government intervention to restore the industry’s competitiveness, boost local production, reduce dependence on imports and create sustainable employment opportunities for Nigerians.

The Senate subsequently called for increased funding to the Bank of Industry (BoI) to support the revival of textile companies and requested the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to intensify efforts to encourage cotton farming, describing cotton production as critical to the survival of the textile sector.

Following deliberations, the Senate adopted the motion and urged the Federal Government to implement policies aimed at revitalising the textile value chain, from cotton farming to manufacturing and distribution, as part of broader efforts to strengthen the country’s industrial base and economic growth.

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President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and authorised the immediate release of N10 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency response capacity against the deadly virus.

The intervention comes amid renewed concerns over the resurgence of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, prompting the Federal Government to activate measures aimed at preventing the importation of the disease into the country.

The emergency funding is expected to bolster the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical public health response activities nationwide.

The newly constituted Presidential Task Force will be chaired by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), alongside representatives of state governments.

President Tinubu’s approval followed a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened by Gbajabiamila to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies to forestall any outbreak within the country’s borders.

Participants at the meeting included officials of the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Lagos State Government and other critical institutions involved in disease surveillance and border management.

As part of the emergency measures, the President directed all states hosting international airports and major border corridors to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for coordinated implementation by the Federal Government.

The Task Force is also expected to immediately intensify passenger screening at international airports through enhanced temperature checks and stricter crowd-control measures.

Authorities have been directed to strengthen monitoring of travellers arriving through identified high-risk routes, including flights operated by Air Uganda, RwandaAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

In addition, referral and isolation centres are to be activated without delay at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, while similar facilities will subsequently be established at other designated entry points across the country.

The government further ordered the mandatory deployment of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from, or transiting through, countries classified as high risk.

Other precautionary measures include the disinfection of departure halls, cargo terminals, baggage handling areas and other airport facilities.
President Tinubu also mandated the advisory group to engage security, diplomatic and aviation authorities on possible regulations governing flights from affected countries.

The Task Force is expected to recommend the designation of specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to facilitate controlled screening and isolation procedures, as well as consider adjustments to flight schedules to minimise contact between high-risk travellers and other passengers.

The latest measures signal the administration’s determination to avoid a repeat of past public health emergencies by strengthening early detection systems, tightening border surveillance and ensuring rapid response capacity in the face of emerging disease threats.