Northern Governors Call For More Troops To Troubled North-East

The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) on Monday urged the Federal Government to deploy more troops to the north east to contain the upsurge in attacks by insurgents.

The governors made the call in a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Kaduna.

The NSGF Chairman and Niger State Governor, Alhaji Bababgida Aliyu, who read out the resolution to newsmen, said the security situation in the north-east was assuming a worrying dimension.

“The forum called on the federal government to deploy more security personnel with superior military equipment as well as adopt measures to boost their morale, to enable them effectively fight the insurgents and other threats to security in the region.

“The forum called on the government to secure the country’s porous borders by restricting trans-border movements, providing adequate funding, as well as implementing all past security reports in the country.”

The governors resolved to adopt common approach towards combating insurgency in the region.

This he said would be done by “down playing political differences and working towards a common goal; improving on intelligence gathering and vigorously pursuing employment and youth empowerment programmes to take idle youths off our streets.”

The northern governors also expressed concern over the inability of the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) to actualise its mission and vision.

It challenged the company to address critical issues affecting the north, “particularly human capital deficit, economic regeneration and infrastructure deficit”.

The forum directed the investment committee of the board to meet with the management of the company with a view to re-prioritise the company’s proposed five-year strategic plan.

The northern governors also resolved to nominate the “best of brains from the north” to represent it at the forthcoming national conference.

Also, the forum frowned at the continuous collection of multiple taxes on agricultural produce and cattle on the highway.

It called on such states to obey a High Court judgement which banned such collections.

It commended the effort of the Kano State Government for banning street begging and urged other states to adopt the measure.

The communique called on the federal government to compensate families of security personnel killed in the Ombatse crisis in Nassarawa State.

It directed the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation to articulate tangible projects that would touch the lives of the people, especially in the area of education.