The Executive Gov of Zamfara State and Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Hon Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar has today Thursday, 27th December, 2018, said that if declaration of state of emergency in his state is the only means of ending the killings and kidnappings of the innocent people in the state by bandits and other criminals, he supported it.
Governor Yari was addressing the press this evening in his office at Govt House Gusau shortly after series of security meetings with stakeholders.
Gov Yari who had to break his annual leave barely four days after its commencement, to return back home from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he was performing lesser – Hajj to attend to the worsening security situation in his state, said no responsible Gov would fold arms watching his people being killed.
He said he was supprised by waves of calls by some unscrupulous persons who neither have the knowledge and magnitude of the crisis in the state, nor understand the trauma the innocent people of zamfara state are going through.
The NGF Chairman said those people calling for the declaration of state of emergency in the state are ignorant of what state of emergency is all about.
He gave refernce to what happend in the north- east during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when the people of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States had resisted the removal of their own governors by former President Jonathan when he declared emergency rule in those Boko Haram infested states.
Gov. Yari therefore wondered why such peope particularly the indigenes of the state, are clamouring for a state of emergency, just as native informants are busy sabotaging the ongoing military and other security operations in the state.
Gov Yari said President Muhammadu Buhari has already declared state of emergency in Zamfara state by the series of military actions and policies that saw to the increase in the number of security personnel and the eastabliahment of several military and other security formatioms in the state.
Gov Yari therefore blamed the continued killings in the state on informants who support the bandits and kidnappers, urging the people of the state to support government in tackling the situation.
He said that both state and federal governments as well as security agencies had been making efforts to address the situation.
He lamented that informants had made it difficult for security agencies in the state to operate effectively. The governor said that most of the bandits and kidnappers received information from people in the state, which he said was “unfortunate”.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari was doing his best to end the situation and had deployed more security personnel to the state. “Before Buhari’s administration, we had few security personnel in this state, but today we have about 4000 security personnel including Army, Police and Civil Defence. “I held a meeting earlier today with traditional rulers and local government council chairmen. We are working hand in hand with all stakeholders to ensure that we end this situation,” he said. He urged the people of the state to stop blaming government for security challenges., but instead, join hands in tackling the ugly situation. “I am calling on communities to always support security agencies with information on suspcious movement in their respective areas,” stated the Governor.
Signed
Ibrahim Dosara
Hon Special Adviser to the Executive Gov on Public, Media and Communication
