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Borno State has secured about €61 million in new funding from the United Nations and development partners to strengthen peacebuilding and recovery efforts over the next two years, Governor Babagana Zulum said on Thursday.
Zulum spoke while briefing journalists after the fourth UN Offer Board and Peacebuilding Fund Steering Committee meeting in Maiduguri.
“Another new phase of the UN Offer has also been launched, amounting to about 61 million Euros, which should be spent within the next two years,” Zulum said.
The new phase follows the successful completion of the first phase of the UN Offer Programme, which supported peacebuilding activities across the state, he noted.
The governor said Germany had already contributed about €10 million to the new basket fund supporting the programme.
“While the United Kingdom, Switzerland and other development partners are expected to make additional contributions,” he said.
Zulum added that the Borno government would also contribute to the basket fund to demonstrate ownership and support the programme’s effective implementation.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, described Borno’s multi-partner coordination framework as a model for replication elsewhere.
Bagudu said other parts of Nigeria and countries facing similar humanitarian and development challenges could adopt the framework.
He claimed that it gave the government, the UN, and development partners a common understanding and a unified funding mechanism.
Germany’s Chargé d’Affaires to Nigeria, Johannes Lehne, said Germany would commit another €10 million to the programme.
Lehne said the intervention, led by the Borno and national governments, would promote peace and prosperity.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohammed Fall, said coordinated action and strong leadership remained essential to addressing Borno’s challenges.
Fall commended Zulum and Bagudu for demonstrating commitment to the peacebuilding initiative and its objectives.
