State governors from the North-Eastern part of the country have met with the President Muhammadu Buhari on the deteriorating security situation in the zone.
Appealing to Buhari to address the causes without further delay, the Governors lamented the rate at which more members are being recruited into the sect.
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, disclosed these to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting they had with Buhari inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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When asked to give further details of what transpired at the meeting concerning security, 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.
He added;
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.
Giving recommending on how to tackle the insecurity, Zulum expressed;
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.
The meeting held during to recent bandits and Boko Haram attacks in the North East which is further deteriorating the security situation in the zone.
In July, Zulum’s convoy was attacked between Baga and Munguno while he was on a routine inspection.
The following day, multiple explosions from mortars fired by suspected Boko Haram members rocked Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, leaving many injured.
Read Also: One Dead, 16 Injured As Multiple Explosions Rock Maiduguri
Zulum stated that the meeting with the President was born out of a meeting of the North East governors held in Maiduguri on Saturday.
He said the governors resolved on Saturday to meet Buhari with a view to highlighting the key challenges in the region, especially the issues of security, decaying infrastructure especially road projects, cases of oil exploration in the region, and the issues of enhancing river basin development in the region among others.
When asked to comment on the recent attack on his convoy and the controversy that ensued after he accused military of sabotage, Zulum said a series of meetings had been held after the attack.
Read Also: Boko Haram Attacked Governor Zulum’s Convoy Not Soldiers – Army Insists
He, however, refused to disclose the agreement reached during the said consultations.
The governor simply 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.
