Borno Road Mantainance Agency (BORMA) under the Chairmanship of Engineer Ahmed Satomi is now under fire over condemnations by residents mostly expressed on the Social Media Platforms about the slow pace of work and poor execution of roads project under the Agency, our Correspondent has learnt.
Satomi who is aspiring to run for House of Representatives, Jere Federal Constituency under the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC come 2019, was before his appointment as BORMA Boss, Chairman of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), an outfit primarily responsible for taking care of over 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, but was redeployed by Governor Shettima last year following series of allegations and petitions against his leadership by both International donors and the traumatized IDPs.
A serving National Youth Service Corps, Comrade Abdullahi Ali with State Code No: BO/17B/1514 in a letter he copied Governor Kashim Shettima on his Facebook page alleged threat to his life.
The Corps Member who is a Social Media Activist said, he was amongst those who took to the Social Media Platforms to invite Satomi to come to the rescue of people of Mairi Kuwait Ward of Maiduguri Metropolis following poor execution of roads projects under his Agency, where incessant flooding during this rainy season have continued to cause nightmare to residents due to collapsing of drainage haphazardly executed.
He regretted that, although after the outcry, Satomi visited Mairi Kuwait on 23/08/2018 in the presence of the Corper, and all of a sudden, instead of apologizing to residents, he started threatening the Serving Corper whom he described as ‘illiterate’.
According to the Corper in a letter copied to the governor on his Facebook page said: “I am Comrade Abdullahi Ali Baima, a serving corps member in your state with state code no B0/17B/1514, i am sending my greetings to you with alot of worries over immoral act made by Engr. Satomi Ahmed to me during his visit to Mairi Kuwait on 23/08/2018.
“I am among the social Media activists that invited Engineer Ahmed Satomi to witness the affected Area and to see some errors made by his agency in Maori Kuwait.
” Sir, his visit came at the right time as i was among the residents that were present at the scene of poor execution of roads by BORMA, we are explaining to him what happened, but he started threatening my life calling me Illiterate.
Another residents who gave their names as Abba Alhassan of Damboa Road, Yakubu Aminu of Kullurori, James Anjili of Jiddari Polo and Mohammed Umar of Old Maiduguri in the metropolis lamented that inability of BORMA to execute or complete armies of roads projects, despite huge amount of funds allocated to the agency in the 2018 budget.
Sources close to the governor told our Correspondent that BORMA under Satomi have apart from being dominated by quacks and his family and friends, had since exhausted its 2018 budget since March this year with poor visible roads maintenance and so-called refilling of potholes, because the real Engineers/professionals working in the agency were sidelined, hence, the slow pace of works experienced along Commissioner of Police Official Residence- Damboa- NNPC Depot Dualization among other abandoned and poorly executed road projects being handled by the agency.
The Source also expressed worry with the latest approval and immediate release of N1 billion by the State Government to BORMA for the construction of Gamboru Ngala- Kala Balge road, considering the increasing Boko Haram attacks and ongoing military operations in that axis, which makes it difficult to access the general area, not to even mobilize equipments to site.
Another Source alleged that the Dualization of Damboa road which has been in comatose stage, may be difficult to complete it by the agency, as according to him, “the N3.6 billion cowardly requested by Satomi to complete the project was hitherto rejected at the State Executive Council Meeting due to the fact that, a Private Contractor through the mother ministry of Works had earlier submitted proposal to the tune of only N2.6 billion, but was rejected due to high contract cost, in which the ministry claimed that, with Direct Labour, it would only cost the State Government N1.8 billion, instead of the N3.6 billion earlier requested by Satomi.
Investigation by our Correspondent also shows that, many of the road projects under Satomi, such as Damboa-Chibok- Mbalala, Biu- Kinging- Yimirshika- Shaffa roads and host of others would not see the light of the day as the agency had already exhausted its 2018 budgets with no clear evidence of results.
When contacted for his reaction yesterday, Satomi told our Correspondent that “the reporter should go ahead with whatever information or allegations against his agency, and nothing will happen”. End