Zulum Bags NUJ’s 2024 Good Governance Award On Education

Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno State, has received the Nigerian Union of Journalists’ Good Governance Award 2024 in the category of Education.

The event, dubbed the “NUJ Press Freedom and Governance Award,” honoured 18 journalists and public servants who had made significant contributions to their careers.

The National President of NUJ, Chief Chris Isiguzo, presented the award to Zulum at an event held on Saturday at the Barcelona Hotel in Abuja. He stated that the award was in recognition of Governor Zulum’s laudable achievements in the development of the educational sector and the good governance he has provided to the people of Borno.

According to the NUJ President, Zulum has over the years, embarked on innovative intervention and aggressive investment in the education sector of Borno State

The statement said Zulum has since 2019 executed 124 projects in the education sector, including the construction of over 30 new mega schools and the rehabilitation of 1,087 classrooms in several schools across the state.

Zulum has recruited over 4,000 new teachers, deployed strategies to reduce out-of-school children from 2 million children to 800,000 in 2024 and has approved over N4 billion as scholarship for local and foreign education to Borno indigenes.

Zulum, who was represented by the Commissioner of Information and Internal Security, Prof Usman Tar, thanked the organisers for recognising him as deserving of the award.

He said: ” It is amazing to be rewarded for managing a crisis and rebuilding a state like Borno State, which is coming out of a decade-long violent insurgency. The Borno restoration project focuses on bold and sustained investment in all sectors of society.

“Press Freedom constitutes an important booster of the Building Borno Back and Better initiative. In Borno State, journalists are granted free space and access to information to carry out their duties and write stories that will enlighten society and influence public policy,” Zulum said.

The event was attended by the Governor of Benue State, Rev Hyacinth Alia, the Speaker of Federal House of Representatives, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas was represented by Chairman House Committee on Information and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris

Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission Abuja, Ms Gill Lever, DG VON, Mr Bernabas Gemade, and Major Gen Lawrence Onoja are also in attendance.