4
Inherited problems
1
Fixed
3
Partial progress
Fixed
Partial progress
Partial
The problem
On taking office in May 2019, Zulum inherited a humanitarian catastrophe in which roughly 2.5 million people across the north-east had been displaced by the insurgency, with about 1.8 million of them in Borno State alone, alongside over 200,000 Borno residents who had fled as refugees to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
What was done
The administration accelerated IDP camp closures and resettlement, closing camps and returning tens of thousands of households to communities of origin, though rights monitors say many returnees still lack adequate services and a 2025 report warned that renewed insurgent activity is complicating the return policy.
Partial
The problem
A decade of insurgency left large numbers of schools, homes, and public buildings across Borno destroyed or abandoned, particularly in rural and formerly insurgent-held local government areas.
What was done
The administration has delivered roughly 1,195 development projects since 2019, including 104 rebuilt schools and 2,931 restored classrooms, though reconstruction needs across the state's 27 local government areas remain extensive.
Fixed
The problem
Borno's local government and public-school payrolls were found to be carrying tens of thousands of non-existent or improperly registered 'ghost workers,' costing the state roughly ₦420 million every month.
What was done
Verification committees set up by Zulum identified 22,556 ghost workers at the local government and primary-school level and later found a further 91 ghost staff and 21 fake-certificate holders in the health sector, recovering ₦150 million in unclaimed funds in a single month and pledging to blacklist banks implicated in the scheme.
Partial
The problem
Like most north-eastern states, Borno entered Zulum's tenure with a comparatively small internally generated revenue base (about ₦6.52 billion before 2019) and heavy dependence on federation account allocations, compounded by insurgency-driven economic disruption.
What was done
IGR has grown steadily under Zulum, reaching ₦8.18 billion in his first year and roughly ₦19.4 billion by 2023, though the state's Medium Term Expenditure Framework flags that continued growth in debt service could threaten the state's debt sustainability threshold if not carefully managed.