Zulum Equips Grassroots Drivers: 27 LG Chairmen Trained to Power Borno’s 25 Year Transformation Agenda

By:Babagana Bukar Wakil, Maiduguri

It was a gathering with a clear purpose. For two days, the indimi International Conference Hall at the University of Maiduguri played host to the men and women closest to the grassroots, chairmen of all 27 local government councils, council secretaries, and directors of administration, all brought together under one roof.

The workshop, themed “Transformational Leadership for Resilience Building & Sustainable Impact,” ran from Sunday the 7th to Monday the 8th of September, 2026. It was organised by the Borno State Government in partnership with Stalwart Consults International and the African Policy Research Institute.

Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the state government, the Honourable Commissioner for Local Government and Emirates Affairs, Sugun Mai Mele, described the training as a key pillar of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s 25 year development plan and its 10 year implementation strategy, a blueprint he said would move Borno administratively to a greater level. He thanked Governor Zulum for his foresight and what he called the governor’s deep love for his people, and charged participants to put their new knowledge to work in driving the administration’s policies and programmes forward.

That message was echoed by Professor Nana Tanko, Chief Executive Officer of the African Policy Research Institute, one of the organisations facilitating the training. “We are here because Borno State has decided to build the capacity of the senior leadership of local government councils, to get them ready to lead the transformation that is ongoing in the state,” he said. “We have been asked to help, and we are here to assist.”

But Professor Tanko was quick to stress that this is only the beginning. “We are hoping that the officials will leave here equipped with leadership skills and the tools they are going to use. It’s not just another training; this is really the beginning of a process, with a lot of capacity support to follow. They are the closest tier of government to the people; their responsibility is execution. Borno State has developed a great transformation agenda for the next 25 years, and they are going to be the drivers. If you don’t equip the drivers, it will be difficult for them to deliver.”

For the participants themselves, the stakes are personal. Engr. Dr. Ali Lawan Yomi, Executive Chairman of Magumeri Local Government Council, said the workshop, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, is about sustaining what the governor has already built. “Local government councils are the backbone of any development in this country, and restoring civil authority cannot be overemphasised, especially in this era of insurgency,” he said. “His Excellency has done so much within seven years, in security, agriculture, rural infrastructure, education, and the empowerment of youth and vulnerable communities. These impacts need to be sustained, and bringing grassroots leaders on board to know them and sustain them cannot be overemphasised.”

Fatimati Ibrahim, Secretary of Hawul Local Government, was refreshingly candid about why she came. “We have a responsibility to our people, and I represent Hawul. I want my knowledge to be upgraded, to be acceptable to my people, and to find something I can do for them. I want them to be happy,” she said. “The knowledge I have now is not enough for me. I know I will get more here, and I will go back and step it down to my people.”

The ALGON Chairman of Borno State, Honourable Ali Bolori, who also chairs Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, struck a humble note. “I think this programme will help us take our people to the next level,” he said. “We didn’t organise it; it was organised for us. So I don’t want to open everything for now. After the programme ends, ask me and I will tell you everything. Even we came here to learn what we don’t know.”

As the workshop wrapped up, one thing was clear: with Borno’s 25 year transformation agenda now in motion, the state is betting on its local government leaders, the drivers closest to the people, to carry it home.

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