The Senate yesterday decried a lack of infrastructure and basic social amenities such as schools, electricity and water for residents of the country’s border communities.

According to the Committee on State and Local Government Affairs, the neglect has forced some residents to cross into neighbouring countries in search of potable water, schools, and healthcare services.

Committee Chairman Binos Yaroe (PDP Adamawa South) expressed the concerns while presenting the 2025 budget estimates of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), and the National Boundary Commission (NBC), as well as other agencies under his supervision to the Committee on Appropriations.

Yaroe said the absence of social infrastructure in many border communities had made life unbearable for the people in the affected areas. He alleged that the residents used to give their allegiance to the neighbouring countries where they get access to education and water, among other basic amenities.