President Tinubu met with Borno Governor Zulum over Boko Haram threats and FIRS Chief Adedeji amid a ground rent dispute. Other officials discussed economic growth plans for the South East region.
President Bola Tinubu on Monday received Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zach Adedeji, and other officials at the State House, Abuja. Zulum’s visit follows concerns about Boko Haram and ISWAP’s advances, with the governor recently warning the insurgents were one town away from overrunning Marte Local Government Area. The Northeast insurgency, ongoing since 2009, has claimed over 350,000 lives and displaced more than two million people.
The FIRS chairman’s visit came after the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, ordered the sealing of the FIRS office in Abuja due to 25 years of unpaid ground rent—a move criticized by FIRS as “malicious” and “unprofessional.”
Also meeting with the President were the Ministers of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, and Budget and National Development, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. Mark Okoye II, CEO of the South East Development Commission, also briefed Tinubu on plans to build a $200 billion South East economy by 2035, supporting the President’s $1 trillion GDP vision.