National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria, NASWDEN, has rejected the allegations raised by Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum of theft of the cable wires,n said to be purchased for the N3 billion electricity distribution project linking Damaturu, Yobe State, to Maiduguri.
Daily Trust reported that Zulum spoke while addressing affected business operators in Maiduguri, according to a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Technical Assistant on Print and Digital Communications, Abdulrahman Bundi.
Zulum cited the loss as a major reason the government is restricting the scrap metal trade.
The governor said security intelligence also indicated that insurgents were allegedly using scrap dealers to dispose of looted metals.
But in a swift reaction, the Deputy National President of the NASWDEN, Comrade Aminu Soja, dismissed Zulum’s allegations as baseless and unfounded.
In a statement issued in Kano on Sunday night, Soja challenged the governor to “provide verifiable evidence supporting his allegation that scrap metal scavengers stole electrical cables reportedly worth ₦3 billion”.
Soja also demanded to know the contractor responsible for the project, the year it was executed, whether the cables were actually supplied and installed, and when the alleged theft occurred.
The Deputy National President questioned how the Borno state government reached its conclusions when scrap metal activities had been banned in the state for more than three years.
“Governor Zulum must not use scrap dealers as scapegoats to conceal the government’s failures in providing basic social amenities and infrastructure.
“You cannot accuse an entire industry without presenting credible evidence,” Soja stated.
Mr Soja also declared that NASWDEN categorically distances itself from Boko Haram and all forms of terrorism, insisting that the association is a legitimate body representing law-abiding scrap and waste dealers, not criminal organisations.
He warned that the attempt to portray scrap dealers as criminals without substantiated evidence amounts to giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
NASWDEN calls on the Borno State Government to provide evidence, identify those responsible if a crime occurred, and stop making generalised allegations against legitimate business operators.
