BY EMEKA MAMAH

LAGOS – The Borno State Government has expressed worry over negative reports which it said had been portraying the state as a war zone.

It advised journalists and those it referred to as ”disgruntled politicians and fifth columnists to avoid being used to cause further panic in the minds of residents of Maiduguri.’’

In a statement the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, said the way the state  was being portrayed in the media would make it a no-go area for investors, adding that, ‘’the state government takes particular exception to the faulty theorisation’’ by a Northern-based media organisation that 90 per cent of businesses in Maiduguri, the state capital, have closed down since the outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency.’’

He noted that such ‘’remarks were rather unfortunate, given the fact that other journalists are giving factual and well-researched reports on the situation of things in the state to the effect that normalcy has returned, and businesses are booming.”