President Muhammadu Buhari had separate audiences with Governors Aminu Masari of Katsina, Abdulahi Sule of Nasarawa and Darius Ishaku of Taraba States over security challenges bedeviling the Northern region as a result of Boko Haram/.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, had on Monday night, met the president.
The four requested assistance to end insecurity rocking their various states.
Speaking to State House Correspondents in separate interviews after their meetings, Masari stressed the need for to collaboration to tackle security challenges in the North West.
He said if each state in the region has different policy, bandits and terrorists would always get away after committing their dastardly acts.
“I think what is most important for us to succeed in fighting these bandits is for all of us in the states, especially the North-western states, to take the pains and work together to make sure that we block all the loopholes
“But if one state has a policy and another has a different one, certainly they (bandits) will always be moving from one state to another. Luckily enough, we are already working closely with states that border us, like Nasarawa and Niger, to bring the problem to a manageable and tolerable level,” Masari, who he led a delegation of elders to Abuja, said.
On the recent killing of one of his commissioners, the Masari said it had nothing to do with banditry but a case of assassination.
He assured the family of the deceased and citizens of the state that security agents were working hard to unravel the murder.
However, Masari said with the measures put in place by security agencies against banditry, there was an improvement.
“We cannot say normalcy has returned but there is improvement. When we had a comparative analysis before the issuance of the security containment order, what we saw in three months when we compared was a drastic drop of over 100 percent in terms of the rate of kidnappings, killings and their associated crimes with banditry. So, the incident we had last week had nothing to do with banditry,” he stressed.
Governor Sule said he met the president to express his appreciation for the support being received by his state over security.
“You must have heard that 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.”
On Boko Haram insurgents that had gathered in parts of the state, he said they had now been dispersed.
“Those are the ones I have mentioned; that mostly they had been dislodged because of the joint operations, even from the support we get from my colleague in Kogi State. So, constantly, we share information with Kogi State as well as Benue and a lot of efforts have been put into that. So far, so good.”
However, Sule affirmed that despite efforts put in, Nasarawa State was 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,” Governor Sule declared.
He stated that he briefed President Buhari on the recent attack on Manga community in Takum Local Government Area by Ambazonia separatists from southern Cameroon. The invasion led to the sacking of residents of Manga village, which is said to be 20 kilometres from Kashimbilla Dam.
Ishiaku said he requested assistance from the Federal Government to tackle security and other developmental issues in the state.
“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 boundary with Cameroon, it was invaded by the Cameroonian Ambazonia separatists. They killed 11 people, including the chief of the small town. And I have not been able to see Mr. President because of his busy schedule and his travels. So, I’m fortunate today to have an appointment with him, to brief about what transpired and the need to give us some assistance in that axis. It was a very usual discussion and I am happy.”
Asked if he was satisfied with the way the Federal Government was handling the situation and confident there would not be a repeat of the attack, he said: “That’s why I’m here to see Mr. President because he alone can give the order for us to strengthen our border by sending security men along the border. Once we have that, I think we will secure that border. Incidentally, we have about the longest border with Cameroon. So there is absolute need to secure and strengthen it. And this particular area of Manga is by the lakeshore. Because of the damming of Kasimila, the water has gone almost like six kilometers into Cameroon. So, people now find it easy just to come in and go out.
“So, we may also need a naval base to be able to secure, police and monitor the people that go in and out as well as an immigration posts. All these are requests and I think Mr. President has assured me that he will do something about it, I’m very hopeful.”
The Governors met in Abuja with President Buhari just as the North East Governors Forum reiterated its commitment towards ending the decade-old insecurity in the region.
Chairman of the Forum and Borno Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, who spoke at the opening of the sixth meeting of the Forum in Damaturu, Yobe, 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 down 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 to feel that surrendering was the only cause of action available to them in the face of 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 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.
In his remarks, Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, 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 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 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.
“In addition, we would support Small and Medium Scale enterprises and encourage the formation of clusters to enable eligible people access loans to boost their occupations.
“This august gathering may be pleased to note that, we have this year created the Ministry for Wealth Creation, Empowerment and Employment Generation.
“Chiefly to arrest youth restiveness and unemployment by providing grants to communities in the form of empowerment materials for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons, farmers, fishermen, herdsmen, persons with disabilities, women, youth and other vulnerable groups,” Buni said.