…We’ll reclaim Baga, CDS assures
By Lawrence Olaoye
Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, along with other governors from the North-East, yesterday insisted that elections must hold in the troubled states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states currently facing ravaging attacks from the Boko Haram insurgents.
The governors however described the insecurity situation facing the North-East region as a potent threat to the existence of the people, calling for a concerted efforts to crush the insurgents.
Shettima, who briefed State House correspondents after a security meeting of the three governors and the serving security chiefs with President Goodluck Jonathan, expressed the hope that the government would win the war against the insurgents.
According to him, acceding to the call from certain quarters that election in those troubled states of the federation be postponed on account of the activities of the insurgents would amount to giving in to the antics of the Boko Haram.
Shettima pointed out that, “We are facing real existential threat to our culture, to our people and to our civilisation. It’s amazing when people dwell so much on the elections. Elections are for the living but elections are being conducted in war torn Afghanistan; elections was conducted recently in Iraq, in Syria and so many other places.
“So, it is not an issue in contention; the most important issue is how to safeguard the lives and properties of our people; to recover our lost territories, the lot Chibok girls.
Similarly, the Yobe state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, disclosed that the North east governors have called on the President to deploy more troops to the zone to combat the insurgents.
He told State House Correspondents, “We have come to brief the President on the security features of our various states, we have come to greet him and we told him of the challenges we have been facing. We are appealing to the federal government to deploy more troops in addition to what we have on ground to arrest the situation in our various states.
“We need more troops; the troops on ground we have in our various states is not enough to contain the situation, so we are appealed to the federal government to deploy additional troops with full equipment to tame the situation.”
Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, has assured that the military would reclaim Baga, which recently fell to the insurgents.
Those at the meeting include Vice President Namadi Sambo, governors of Adamawa, Bala Ngilari, Yobe, Ibrahim Gaidem, (accompanied by his predecessor, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim), Borno, Kashim Shetima (accompanied by the State’s SSG, Abba Ahmed Gida) and the Kaduna State Governor, Ramalan Yero, as well as the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki and other Service chiefs.
Also in attendance were Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Gusau and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Amyim.
