President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday parleyed with the governors of Nasarawa and Taraba states, Abdulahi Sule and Darius Ishaku, on solutions to insecurity in the states.
The meetings took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President had on Monday met with the Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal on insecurity. Masari sought collaboration among the states in the Northwest as a solution to the security challenge in the area.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after his meeting with the President, Sule said he met the President to express his appreciation for the support being received by his state over security.
He said: “I came to express appreciation to Mr. President for all the supports we have continued to receive in the area of security.
“You must have heard, there were several joint operations of the special forces; the military, the police, together with vigilante, the Air Force and the Navy in the two local government areas bordering Abuja and as a result, the various operations have been very successful.
“Recently, some of our schools were being targeted, we privately approached and actions were taken and then we thank almighty God that we’ve been able to dislodge those ones.”
He added that despite the efforts Nasarawa is not free from insecurity.
“Well, nowhere in the world is completely safe, but to a certain extent, we can say we are. If you compare us with so many parts of the country, you can consider Nasarawa as a very safe place today,” Sule said.
Ishaku said he briefed President Buhari on the recent attack on parts of the state by Ambazonia separatists from Southern Cameroon.
He said he requested assistance to tackle security and other developmental issues in the state.
Ishaku said: “First is that I came to see, Mr. President, on security issues. If you remember, some weeks back, there was an attack in Taraba State, specifically, at Manga, which has a boundary with Cameroon, it was invaded by the Cameroonian armed soldiers. They kill 11 people, including the chief of the small town.”
The NorthEast Governors Forum yesterday reiterated its commitment towards ending the decade-old insecurity in the region.
The Chairman of the Forum and Borno governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, made the commitment at the opening of the sixth meeting of the Forum in Damaturu, Yobe.
He also assured that the Forum would do everything possible to see that people go about their businesses unhindered in the region.
Zulum said through the strategic collaboration between the Forum and the military, thousands of insurgents had laid their arms and surrendered to the military.
“Recent developments seem to indicate that we have reached the beginning of an end of Boko Haram insurgency. That explains why the terrorists have been coming out of their enclaves to surrender.
“The situation is overwhelming in its scope and it’s gratifying in its impact. After sufficient consultation with the military and other agencies, we came up with strategic initiatives to exploit the situation.
“We deliberately made the insurgents feel that surrendering was the only cause of action available to them in the face of a devastating onslaught by troops.
“That frankly weakened the prospects for terrorists to accomplish their devilish actions. So far, thousands of Boko Haram have surrendered and we are in the process of profiling them,” the forum chairman said.
Zulum called on the troops and other sister agencies to sustain the onslaught and ensure that they degrade the insurgents’ enclaves and end the war once and for all.
“We must pursue them because the nexus between security and development cannot be overemphasized,” he added.
Zulum said other challenges to be discussed at the meeting included cattle rustling, kidnapping, banditry, and gender-based violence.
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni said the speedy recovery of the region depends on the resuscitation of the Lake Chad, implementation of the Great Green Wall project, and actualising the Mambila Hydro Power project.
He said the Yobe government had focused on revitalising the education sector, one of the key areas for post-insurgency socio-economic rejuvenation.
“We have remained focused on the declaration of State of Emergency at the inception of our administration and the current Education Revitalization Appeal Fund, which we have raised funds above the set targets in most of the Local Government Areas.
“Simultaneously, we are gearing our efforts towards revamping agriculture to serve as an instrument for the attainment of food security, employment, and revenue generation.
“We are constructing an International Cargo airport which is almost completed, just as we are about to commission the new Modern Markets in Damaturu, Gashua, Nguru and Potiskum towns and also a Trailer Park in Potiskum.”
