Political Thuggery: UNDP Joins Zulum’s Model For 2,862 Youths

The United Nations Development Programme has keyed into a social protection model introduced by Governor Babagana Umara Zulum in enforcing his ban against political thuggery in Borno State.
The intervention was disclosed, yesterday at the sports centre in Maiduguri in the presence of the governor, who was a Special Guest of Honour at the closing of his government’s phase and launch of UNDP’s involvement.
Zulum had in July 2019 launched a ‘cash for sanitation’ programme through which 2,862 registered members of political thugs called, “ECOMOG” were being paid N30,000 each for a period of six months while they abandoned thuggery and clean the streets to earn pay.
The monthly payment ended in December 2019. With these in place, the Borno ordered the arrest and prosecution of anyone caught in political thuggery.
Speaking at the relaunch, Zulum said the 2, 862 youths were drawn from the 15 wards in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and six wards of Jere.
Our correspondent reports that the two local government areas had produced the highest population of youths involved in violent political thuggery since build-up to the 2003 governorship elections in Borno.
Zulum, who hopes to end that, announced at the sports centre that a combined sum of N515 million was spent in making the monthly payments to the youths enrolled in the model of social protection, said that payments were made directly to individual accounts.