Governors of the 19 Northern States of the federation have lauded the Federal Government for approving the deployment of the newly acquired Super Tucano fighter jets to rout terrorists in the Northwest and Northcentral regions of the country.
Governor of Plateau State and chairman of the Northern Governors Forum. Simon Lalong, also told journalists on Friday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja that the Governors are also delighted with the formal declaration of bandits as terrorists by the Federal Government.
According to Governor Lalong, “well, in terms of security, we are already beginning to see progress on some of the issues we raised with the President last year; you recall that we have been very eager to see the use of the Tucano helicopters so that we can have massive engagement with all the bandits.
“Part of the problem was also the status of the bandits and already you can see that the Nigerian government has declared them as a terrorist group.
“So, the military is now going to do full engagement and we are also getting prepared in the North for such actions.
“That is what we are expecting so if we are going to take action, let it be massive and such that will ensure that within the first quarter of this year people will have hope of their security and peaceful living in all parts of the North.”
The governor stressed the need for drastic measures against the bandits and other criminals, saying such actions had become imperative in order to ensure conducive environment for farmers to boost food production across the states.
“We are expecting this action before the next rainy season. You recall we mentioned that we are an agrarian society so, we want our people to go back to farm and in most cases it is this insecurity that is keeping them away from the farms,” he added.
He reiterated that the governors would continue to collaborate with traditional rulers and local vigilantes to safeguard their domains.