…I Will Sustain Support, Governor Assures
By Inusa Ndahi, Maiduguri
The governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum, has been according incredible support to the Nigerian military and in many instances risked his life visiting front lines to motivate the troops, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has declared.
The minister spoke on Tuesday at the Council Chamber of the Government House in Maiduguri.
Badaru said, “My brother – addressing Governor Zulum -the troops here in Borno and indeed the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, asked me to send their appreciation to you for all the support that you have been rendering to the military. You have been supporting us in all our operations, thank you most sincerely. Sometimes, you even risk your life supporting and encouraging our personnel, we appreciate you.”
The minister noted that their visit was at the instance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assess the security situation in the theatre of operations in Borno State in order to see the end of the over one decade of insurgency.
The minister was accompanied to Borno State by the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Mohammed Mutawalle, the CDS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, the Chief of Army Staff, CoAS, Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Naval Staff, CNS, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala and the Chief of Air Staff, CAS, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar.
Meanwhile, Governor Zulum, while responding to the Defence Minister and his delegation reiterated the commitment to continue to support the Nigerian military in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency across the North-East.
He said, “As governor of Borno State, Insha Allah, I will continue to support the Nigerian military with a view to achieving our objective of bringing lasting peace and stability to Borno and by extension, Nigeria. I will continue to provide the political will needed to achieve this objective.”
Noting that the security situation in Borno has tremendously improved, Zulum, however, charged the military to root out the remnants of the insurgents from Sambisa Forest, Mandara Mountains and the enclaves in the Lake Chad Basin in order to completely end the insecurity.
The governor added that stability in the Lake Chad Basin will allow governments at all levels to harness the agricultural potential of the lake towards achieving President Tinubu’s food security initiative.
Zulum expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the leadership he has been providing to address the problem of insurgency in Borno and other security challenges across the country.
