Insecurity: What governors told Buhari — Adesina

The Nigerian government is procuring more equipment in its bid
to overcome the security challenges in various parts of the
country, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

President Buhari disclosed this to members of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum (NGF) at a security meeting held on Tuesday at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja.

His special adviser on media and publicity, Mr Femi Adesina,
gave an update on what was discussed at the meeting during his
appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“The promise the President made was that in terms of equipping,
more equipment were being procured – some had come and there was
the need to train our forces to use them and more will come,” he
said.

President Buhari also appealed to the governors to work with the
traditional and local authorities in their various territories to
tackle the security challenges across the country.

He stressed the need for a smooth relationship between the state
authorities and the grassroots leaders to boost intelligence
gathering.

Preventing Sabotage
The President, who stated that intelligence gathering was key to
the nation’s security, stressed that people must be discouraged
from sabotaging the efforts of the security forces.

“He (Buhari) also encouraged the governors to work in close
contact with the traditional authorities and the local community
because intelligence is a big part of the thing and he encouraged
them that they should work together with the traditional
authorities and the local communities so that those who sabotage
efforts of the military, particularly through giving information to
the other side, can be encouraged to give adequate information to
the military so that the security situation can be tackled,”
Adesina said during the political show.

Asked if the issue of engaging mercenaries and recruiting young
Nigerians from the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) into the
Nigerian Army came up at the meeting, the presidential aide
responded, “No, not specifically; that did not come up.”

He added, “But I know one governor from the North East mentioned
it in person, but it was not something the meeting dwelt on.”

The governors, led by the NGF Chairman and Ekiti State Governor,
Kayode Fayemi, met with President Buhari a week after the forum
held a virtual meeting.

They had resolved to meet with the President over the killing of
over 40 farmers in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents, and the
disturbing security situation of the nation.

Members of the Senate, who were also worried about the Borno
massacre, had asked the President to replace the service chiefs
with new ones with fresh ideas.

They also recommended among others, the provision of
state-of-the-art equipment for the military and recruitment of over
10,000 youths from the Civilian JTF into the army to defeat the
insurgents in the North East.

The Nigerian government is procuring more equipment in its bid
to overcome the security challenges in various parts of the
country, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

President Buhari disclosed this to members of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum (NGF) at a security meeting held on Tuesday at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja.

His special adviser on media and publicity, Mr Femi Adesina,
gave an update on what was discussed at the meeting during his
appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“The promise the President made was that in terms of equipping,
more equipment were being procured – some had come and there was
the need to train our forces to use them and more will come,” he
said.

President Buhari also appealed to the governors to work with the
traditional and local authorities in their various territories to
tackle the security challenges across the country.

He stressed the need for a smooth relationship between the state
authorities and the grassroots leaders to boost intelligence
gathering.

Preventing Sabotage
The President, who stated that intelligence gathering was key to
the nation’s security, stressed that people must be discouraged
from sabotaging the efforts of the security forces.

“He (Buhari) also encouraged the governors to work in close
contact with the traditional authorities and the local community
because intelligence is a big part of the thing and he encouraged
them that they should work together with the traditional
authorities and the local communities so that those who sabotage
efforts of the military, particularly through giving information to
the other side, can be encouraged to give adequate information to
the military so that the security situation can be tackled,”
Adesina said during the political show.

Asked if the issue of engaging mercenaries and recruiting young
Nigerians from the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) into the
Nigerian Army came up at the meeting, the presidential aide
responded, “No, not specifically; that did not come up.”

He added, “But I know one governor from the North East mentioned
it in person, but it was not something the meeting dwelt on.”

The governors, led by the NGF Chairman and Ekiti State Governor,
Kayode Fayemi, met with President Buhari a week after the forum
held a virtual meeting.

They had resolved to meet with the President over the killing of
over 40 farmers in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents, and the
disturbing security situation of the nation.

Members of the Senate, who were also worried about the Borno
massacre, had asked the President to replace the service chiefs
with new ones with fresh ideas.

They also recommended among others, the provision of
state-of-the-art equipment for the military and recruitment of over
10,000 youths from the Civilian JTF into the army to defeat the
insurgents in the North East.