Governor Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State has high regards for not just the Armed Forces but for the police and other security personnel who are daily putting their comfort and lives on the line in the fight against banditry and insurgency that are bedeviling the country.
Malam Radda has continued to support the military and other security agencies in Katsina State with logistics and in some cases, the Governor has had cause to be part of the joint patrol in the efforts to fish out bandits.
Given his antecedents as a former local government chairman and someone who has served at the federal level as Director General of SMEDAN before his election as Governor of Katsina State, it is not possible to make sweeping generalizations against any institution.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed on Wednesday, the Governor was reacting to an earlier statement by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Recalling an interview that His Excellency granted to a television station in April, the Armed Forces frowned at the statement credited to Governor Radda where he allegedly indicted them in the war against banditry.
The Katsina State Governor categorically stated that he never made such a simplistic comment which defies logic.
The statement noted in every human organisation, there are good and bad elements and the activities of the latter are sometimes counterproductive to the good work of the teeming majority whose service to fatherland is unparalleled.
Governor Radda pointed out that that was the context in which he made a passing mentioned about the activities of rogue elements within the service.
The Governor of Katsina State further argued that just like there are unscrupulous traditional rulers and so called clerics that are colluding with bandits, security reports have indicated that there are a few fifth columnists within the rank and file of the Armed Forces, who are sabotaging the efforts of our gallant troops.
The statement reiterated that Governor Radda holds the Armed Forces, the police and other security personnel in high esteem, given their professionalism and the laurels that they achieved for Nigeria in every international assignment
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