Governors Forum pay a condolence visit to Borno State Governor,
Babagana Zulum, on December 1, 2020.
The North East governors have backed the call on the
Federal Government to engage mercenaries in the fight against
insurgents in the region.
Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, stated this on Tuesday on
behalf of his colleagues during a visit to Borno State to condole
with the government and the people over the recent killing of
farmers in the state.
According to him, the governors are in support of the
recommendations made by Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on
how to win the war against Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West
Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents terrorising the region.
“Our dear brother, we are here to condole you over the killing
of farmers by Boko Haram insurgents; we are indeed saddened and
traumatised,” Governor Ishaku said.
He added, “I will key into your request, which you said that the
Federal Government should invite some mercenaries to come and help
us out of this problem because what you cannot do, what you cannot
solve, I think we should invite who can solve it for us.”
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Chiefs Following Insurgent Attack On Farmers
The visit was in the wake of Boko Haram’s beheading of 43
farmers from Zabarmari community who were attacked on Saturday last
week at Koshobe, a village in Mafa Local Government Area of
Borno.
Apart from engaging mercenaries, Governor Zulum proposed the
immediate recruitment of youths into the military to boost its
strength, as well as the provision of mine resistance armoured
personnel carriers and other equipment for the military, police,
and other security agencies involved in the insurgency fight.
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Zulum with counterparts from Taraba and Gombe States, Darius Ishaku
and Inuwa Yahaya, at the Government House in Maiduguri on December
1, 2020.
During Tuesday’s visit, Governor Ishaku said, “We cannot
continuously be mourning, there has to be a time to stop the
mourning.
“All of us in the North East Governors Forum, we are pleading
with the Federal Government to find a solution to the issue of Boko
Haram.”
The Taraba governor also appealed to the Federal Government to
look into the infrastructural deficit in the region and give it the
needed attention.
According to him, it is embarrassing that the North East has an
allocation of 0.35 per cent in the nation’s budget despite the
problems of insurgency and others in the region.
“This is very unfair; I will once again call on the Federal
Government that the issue of Mambila hydropower project should be
looked at as matter of urgency.
“Without this power, we will not indeed have any meaningful
development,” Governor Ishaku Stated.
Governor Zulum, in his response, extended his appreciation to
the delegation for the visit.
Other governors on the visit included Ahmadu Fitiri of Adamawa,
Bala Mohammed from Bauchi, and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State.