The Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mba and his Kaduna State counterpart, Sen. Uba Sani, Tuesday sought the assistance of the military to tackle spiralling insecurity in the two states.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja, the two governors stated that non-state actors have been killing and maiming people in the states unfortunately.
Mba said that on assumption of office and with an improved economy of the state in mind, he banned the sit-at-home order emplaced by the Indeginous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), pointing out that the group was undermining the economy of state.
“We made promises to our people which includes security of lives and property. In dealing with insecurity, we decided to adopt the kinetic and non-kinetic approach.
“We had to deal with the big elephant in the room. We had to end the sit-at-home.
“So far, we are getting the support from stakeholders and we want the support of the Navy in taming insecurity
“We would be looking forward to partnering with the Navy to ensure peace and security in Enugu State”, he said.
Mba expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the appointment of the Naval Chief to his position.
In his remarks, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ogalla, welcomed the governor on his maiden visit to the naval headquarters.
He stated that the Nigerian Navy had ongoing operations and naval presence in Onitsha, Anambra State and Oguta in Imo State.
He said as part of the strategy of the Naval Headquarters, a strong naval presence would be established in Enugu.
“We have extended our operations to land areas and maritime security in Onitsha and Oguta. We have also extended to Enugu our strategic plan to have a permanent presence in Enugu to improve the security of Enugu State and the South-East”, he said.
Same day, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State on a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja at the Army Headquarters in Abuja, called for further intervention especially the deployment of more troops to Southern Kaduna which is covered by Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) to curb the menace of bandits and other criminal elements in the area.
He lauded the efforts of Gen. Lagbaja in decimating bandits and other criminalities along the Abuja- Kaduna road as well as the Birnin Gwari general area during his command as the GOC 1 Division.
In his remarks, the Army chief expressed appreciation to the Kaduna State Government for its support and partnership with the Nigerian Army towards the restoration of peace and tranquility in the state.
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