BY: ABDULKADIR M LAWAN, OCTOBER 22, 2026/ 11:05AM
The Borno State chapter of the National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria, popularly called AJAKUTA, has distanced itself from claims by its national body regarding the state government's recent decision on scrap scavenging.
The state chairman, Umar Usman, made the position known on Wednesday when he led other executive members on a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Committee to Review the Ban on Metal Scavenging in Borno State, Hon. Nasiru Ali Surundi, in Maiduguri.
Mal. Usman welcomed Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum's decision to review the ban, describing it as a positive step towards restoring members' livelihoods and ensuring orderly business operations.
'We welcome the Governor's decision in good faith and dissociate ourselves from the claims made by our national body and some individuals. As law-abiding citizens, we support the state government's efforts to regulate our activities,' Usman said.
He thanked the governor for supporting members of the association and pledged cooperation with the committee towards implementing the government's reforms.
The visit comes against the backdrop of a controversy generated by Gov. Zulum's recent accusation against scrap dealers.
The governor had accused metal scavengers of stealing electrical cables worth over N3 billion purchased for an electricity distribution line linking Damaturu, Yobe State, to Maiduguri.
'We spent more than N3 billion to connect an electricity distribution line from Damaturu to Maiduguri, but unfortunately we lost all the wires to the metal scavenging activities,' Gov. Zulum said during an engagement with scrap operators in Maiduguri at the weekend.
The governor said the theft, alongside security intelligence that insurgents use scrap platforms to sell looted metals, and the killing of hundreds of scavengers in unsafe villages, informed the state's ban on scrap metal trading.
However, the national body of the association has denied the allegation and challenged the governor to provide evidence.
In a statement on Monday, the deputy national president of the association, Aminu Hassan Soja, described the claim as unfair and lacking credible proof, asking the state government to disclose the contractor, when the cables were supplied and installed, and when the alleged theft occurred.
Responding to the state chapter, Hon. Surundi commended the association for clarifying its position, explaining that the government's measures were intended to sanitise the scrap business for the benefit of dealers and the wider public.
'The measures introduced by Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum are aimed at sanitising the scrap business for the benefit of our people. We urge the association's national leadership to verify its facts before making public claims,' Surundi said.
Other members of the delegation endorsed their chairman's position and pledged support for the state government's decision.
The visit came barely a week after the governor announced the temporary lifting of the ban on scrap scavenging and began developing a proposed roadmap toward lifting the ban.