CBDA Suspends Controversial Asset Disposal After Gov. Zulum’s Intervention and Scrutiny

The Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA) has suspended a controversial asset disposal exercise following sustained opposition from the Borno State Government, by Gov. Babagana Zulum, after allegations by some staff members over the scope and transparency of the process went viral.

The suspension was announced in a statement issued by the Authority’s Public Relations Officer and Head of Information Unit, Mr Muhammed Bukar Alibe, who said the exercise involved only unserviceable and obsolete assets certified beyond economic repair by technical inspectors from the Federal Ministry of Works.

Heavy equipment at CBDA facility

The suspension comes after weeks of mounting concerns over plans to dispose of equipment and machinery belonging to the authority, a move feared by most people could significantly weaken the agency’s capacity to support irrigation farming and agricultural development across the Lake Chad Basin region in the North East.

According to the statement, the Authority halted the disposal process after consultations with stakeholders and in consideration of prevailing security restrictions in Borno State. The statement further maintained that no scrap materials had been authorised or released for disposal and reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to transparency, accountability and the protection of public assets.

In its latest statement, the management of the authority said the exercise involved only obsolete and unserviceable items certified beyond economic repair and that the process had been suspended after consultations with stakeholders and consideration of security restrictions affecting movement of scrap materials in Borno State.

However, sources familiar with developments surrounding the exercise dispute that explanation, insisting that concerns raised by the Borno State Government, the media and other stakeholders in the state played a decisive role in forcing the suspension.

Sources told Zagazola that Gov. Babagana Zulum had expressed strong reservations over reports that operational agricultural and engineering equipment could be removed from CBDA facilities under an asset disposal programme.

The sources said the governor subsequently engaged senior officials of the authority and conveyed the state’s opposition to any disposal exercise that could affect serviceable assets acquired with public funds.

“He even warned that if they insisted, he will report directly to Mr President,”said the sources.

The controversy first gained national attention after whistleblowers within the authority raised concerns over the scope of the proposed disposal programme, alleging that equipment earmarked for auction went beyond obsolete materials and included assets considered essential to the agency’s operations.

The allegations triggered widespread concern among stakeholders in Borno and other beneficiary states of the Chad Basin Development Authority.

The matter was earlier scrutinized when the Senate Committee on Water Resources and Sanitation summoned the management of the authority and requested detailed records relating to the disposal process, including valuation reports, approval documents and asset registers.

The committee said it was exercising its constitutional oversight responsibilities to determine whether all statutory requirements had been complied with in the proposed disposal exercise.

Gov. Zulum later publicly warned against the removal of heavy-duty agricultural and engineering equipment from facilities belonging to the authority, arguing that such assets remained critical to food production, irrigation development and economic recovery across the North-East.

He stressed that equipment procured with public resources should be preserved and deployed to support agricultural productivity rather than removed in a manner that could undermine the authority’s mandate.

The governor also reminded stakeholders that Borno State maintains restrictions on scrap metal activities because of security concerns and the role such activities have previously played in facilitating criminal networks.