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Hosts Renewed Hope Ambassadors’ Media Tour in Lokoja
By Lateef Ibrahim Abuja.
Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has thrown a challenge at his counterparts in other states in the country, telling them that security is their responsibility.
Ododo specifically tasked his colleagues to seek out kidnappers in their states.flush them out and protect their citizens.
The Governor threw the challenge on Sunday in Lokoja during the Renewed Hope Ambassadors Media Tour to Kogi State, led by Dr Sunday Dare, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to President Bola Tinubu.
His words, “security is your responsibility, Governors. Seek out kidnappers in your Stated. Protect your citizens.
‘For too long governors have hidden behind federalism. President Bola Tinubu, by the example of Orire students rescue, has thrown the challenge. Rescues can be made”
Continuinng, Ododo said, “With the rescue of kidnapped NECO students, a principal, and an official in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, and with his direct charge to the Armed Forces Command and Staff College during their visit to Kogi, I throw a challenge that every governor in Nigeria can no longer ignore. The security of your people is your responsibility. Act like it”, he said.
It will be recalled that on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, armed bandits attacked an examination centre in Government Secondary School, Olowa Agbajo, Dekina LGA, and abducted 4 people.
In many states, that story would end with a press statement and a prayer. In Kogi, it ended with boots on the ground.
On the direct orders of Governor Ododo, a massive deployment of security personnel was made. By Thursday, a joint team of the Army, DSS, Police, Vigilantes and local hunters had rescued all the victims hale and hearty.
Dr Sunday Dare, while responding, said “that is not luck. That is leadership.He didn’t wait. He led.*
According to him, “When the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Senior Course 48, visited Kogi, Governor Ododo didn’t give them the usual talking points. He gave them a doctrine.
“He told them Kogi’s reality: a state bordering 10 states and the FCT, with vast forests and waterways that attract criminals.
“He told them what he is doing about it: deeper collaboration with the Armed Forces, proactive and aggressive measures, community engagement, and investment in intelligence.
“Most importantly, he made it clear that he sees insecurity as a governor’s problem first. Because a breach in Kogi is a breach in Abuja.
“That is the challenge: Stop outsourcing your people’s safety. The Tinubu Template, The Ododo Execution.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed heads of security agencies to give Kogi every necessary support to rescue the victims. That presidential backing worked because a governor was ready to use it.
“Ododo didn’t fold his arms and wait. He coordinated. He deployed. He received the victims personally”, he stressed.
Dr Dare quoted Ododo as commending the gallantry of security agencies and promised to keep investing in intelligence, logistics, and inter-agency collaboration.
“This is what ‘cooperative federalism’, on security is supposed to look like. The President sets the tone. The Governor does the work.
A Challenge To Every Governor. Ododo has now set the bar.
“You cannot say I don’t control the police while children are in the bush with kidnappers.
“You cannot say It’s a federal matter, while your citizens are being driven out of their farms. You cannot govern a state and not govern its security.
‘The Kogi model is simple: Take ownership. Deploy state resources. Work with federal forces. Engage communities. Rescue your people.
“Already, the results are speaking. Roads are being secured. Barracks are being inspected. APCs are being procured. Forest Guards are being trained. And kidnappers are learning that Kogi is a bad place to operate.
“Governor Ododo has emulated the rescue challenge thrown down by President Tinubu and executed it on the ground.
“In doing so, he has forced a national conversation other governors can no longer run from.
“Security is not a talking point for the next election. It is the job description for today”.
To his colleagues across the 36 states, Ododo’s message is blunt:
*Seek out kidnappers in your state. Protect your citizens. The buck stops on your desk.
“Kogi has shown it can be done. The only question now is: which governor will sit up next”, Dare queried.
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