Tunji wusu –
Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara has requested Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, the new general officer commanding (GOC) of 6 Division, Nigerian Army/Land Component, to stop the spread of illegal and unlicensed firearms in the state.
When Abdussalam paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, Fubara made the accusation.
This was said in a statement made on Tuesday in Port Harcourt by Mr. Boniface Onyedi, the Senior Special Adviser on Media to Fubara.
The governor claims that it is a national disgrace that the Nigerian military permits people to carry weapons.
He questioned why the Nigerian military had not deemed it necessary to crack down on and prosecute non-state actors who continued to run armed camps in some localities while openly displaying high-tech weapons.
“It raises major issues when the military, for whatever reason, ignores such acts of lawlessness committed by individuals who have no business possessing firearms and using them to threaten law-abiding residents.
Have our laws advanced to the point where individuals can brandish weapons in front of military troops and you choose to take no action? He declared that it was an insult to both the state and the federal governments of Nigeria.
Additionally, Fubara brought the military’s attention to the ongoing collapse of law and order in the Elele axis of the state’s Emohua Local Government Area.
He gave the military the order to utilize all available means to put an end to the security lapses at the Elele axis and ensure the safety of both locals and users of the road.
Fubara pleaded with the military to put an end to such public humiliation and to provide security to ensure peace that would foster state growth.
Having been sent to the state, Abdussalam, who is also the Commander of the Joint Taskforce, indicated that the purpose of his visit was to introduce himself to the state administration and seek for their support and collaboration.
The selection of Commissioners and Special Advisers, according to the governor’s aide, is solely within his or her purview. He or she also questioned why certain people should be taking Panadol for the governor’s pain.
It should be underlined that the matter brought before the Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal against the Governor is in no way preventing the State Government from appointing commissioners and other officials.
We therefore urge the people of Nasarawa State to maintain their composure because the Governor would soon transmit the list of commissioner nominees to the State House of Assembly for review and potential confirmation in accordance with the law, as well as name Special Advisers.
In order to ensure the effective completion of the Port Harcourt ring road project, Abdussalam thanked the state government for the numerous logistical and material supports provided to the army. He also promised that the division would offer sufficient protection.
