Buhari In Meeting With Service Chiefs, North-East Governors

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with Governors from Northeastern states and the security chiefs.

According to reports, the meeting is part of the government's efforts in checking the insecurity battles of the country.

Present at the meeting includes Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno.

Security chiefs in attendance are the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai; and the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi.

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Governors present are Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintri; Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum; Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed; Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya; Governor of Yobe, Mai Mala Buni; and the Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku.

The governors spoke of the spike in the number people recruited into the insurgent groups in the country, causing the intense and incessant attacks.

 

Speaking with reporters, the Governor of borno State, Babagana Zulum, said that the governors intimated to the president that the Nigeria Police Force would need to be furnished with more sophisticated equipment.

Zulum said,  “The governors of the region have commended the efforts of the Federal Government in securing the region.

“However, we told the President that there is the need for the Federal Government to address the causes of insurgency, which are not limited to endemic poverty and hunger among others.

“One of the causes is that of access to farmlands. People need to go back to their farmlands; people need to be resettled in their original homes so that they can restart their means of livelihood.

“This is one of the reasons the insurgents are recruiting more into the sect. Therefore, creating an enabling environment for the people to go about their normal duties will no doubt reduce the cases of insurgency.

“We also recommended that police should be empowered, to be provided with a certain state of the art equipment, armored personnel carrier and so on with a view to bridging the manpower gap that we are having in the Nigerian military.”

On the fight against insecurity in states across the country, Zulum said that the effort does rest in the Federal Government alone but also in the lap of state governments.

He said, “We have had a series of consultations after the attack and I think security is not only about the Federal Government. There is a need for the federal, state, and local governments to come together with a view to proffering solutions that will end this crisis in the region.

“But most importantly, there is war economy in the region and I think that is why we are here.

“So, I think the government is taking a bold step with a view to ensuring the speedy resolution of some of the grey areas that we have in the region.”