Insecurity: Tinubu Calls On Govs To Work On Creation Of State Police

…as N/East govs call for resumption oil exploration in Kolmani, Lake Chad wells.

President Bola Tinubu has charged governors to work with the National Assembly to urgently approve the creation of state Police to address the challenge of insecurity in the country.

The President made the call on Wednesday when the North-east governors paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa.

Tinubu, who noted that the challenge of insecurity was on decline in the region, also commended the governors for their efforts in resettling the internally displaced persons (IDPs) back to their ancestral lands.

He lauded them for complementing the efforts of the federal government in the provision of houses for displaced citizens.

Acknowledging the conflicts in the region, the President said, “You have managed well with the collaboration with the federal government, the security challenges are getting clearer, we know it cannot be eliminated with a snap of the fingers. We’ve seen development.

“In the short run of two years, we can beat our chest. The economy has turned around. Many of you are already sending back the displaced citizens, the housing programs you embarked upon in Borno and collectively see how displaced people are returning to their normal residences and having a roof over their heads, the conflict is going down, progress is being made, and we should continue to collaborate.”

On the challenge of insecurity, he said, “Politics apart, we can discuss with the National Assembly leadership to really look at the critical path to that again.

“See how we can eliminate or douse political alliances from state police that will be indigenous to the community and provide the additional safety buffer and effectiveness in the area. We have to look at it collectively.”

Tinubu also called on the governors to invest more in infrastructure, education, agriculture and the health sectors to complement efforts being made by the federal government.

He told the governors that he had resisted the temptation of being distracted by the opposition elements in the politics of 2027, saying that he was ‘solidly focused’.

“There’s no way politics will not interfere once in a while. It is for us to embrace the heart of winning, and from that heart we know the superior thinkers and doers. Our political party will prove itself eventually,” he said.

The Borno state governors who spoke on behalf of the visitors, Prof. Babagana Zulum, thanked the President for fostering peace and stability within the sub-region and continuing with the initiative of his predecessor in sustaining the fight against insurgency.

He said “As a sub-region, we have a peculiarity of having to manage large states with unmanned forest, gorges, deserts, mountains and rivers which make them inaccessible, often hard to reach and almost becoming ungoverned spaces and thereby exacerbating the security challenges of the region, we are fully aligning with Mr Presidents good initiative of training of manpower and providing technology with a view to reversing the ugly trend in the forest thereby reducing the insurgency and promoting agricultural development in alignment with the renewed hope agenda on food security. In terms of environmental sustainability, we really thank Mr. President for your intervention in mitigating the menace of flood, desertification and other natural disasters.”

He, however, presented the request of the region to include: “Continued military operations on the shores of Lake Chad, Dajin Madama, Mandara Hills, Sambisa Game Reserve, Mansur, Yelwa, Futuk, Kolmani areas, Karin Lamido Forest, amongst others; provision of funding to MNJTF for Military operations in the Tumbus of the Lake Chad and completion of ongoing road projects and building of critical roads connecting the States.

These roads included Kano – Maiduguri Road; Port Harcourt – Jos – Bauchi – Maiduguri Railway line; Bama – Mubi – Yola Road; Wukari – Jalingo – Yola Road