Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Governors of the six northeast States have asked the Federal Government to deploy modern military hard-ware to the end over a decade of Boko Haram insurgency in the area.
The governors under the aegis of Northeast Governors’ Forum in a communique issued on Sunday at the end of their second meeting in Maiduguri,Borno State capital, canvassed for the use of technologically driven approach to the counter insurgency war in the northeast
“The forum called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the deployment of state of the art military hard ware to the region,” the governors said
They commended the efforts of the Federal Government in the fight against terrorism but urged military troops to secure some hard-to-reach areas in the regions for civilians to start social and economic life.
They advised the government to bridge the manpower deficit in the military and provide other security agencies such as the police with strategic equipment for their operations.
“The forum recommends that the manpower deficit in the Nigerian Armed Forces should be bridged by allowing the Police carry state of the art weapons where necessary and be provided with strategic equipment like high velocity tear gas, trackers and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC),” they suggested.
They equally called for more attention to the recharging of the Lake Chad and ensure local content in the execution of the Mambila Hydro Electric power project as well as the programmes of the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC).
The meeting was attended by the governor of Borno, the host who was endorsed as chairman for a period of two years. Others include governors of Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe states while deputy governors of Taraba and Yobe states represented their governors.
Pic: Northeast Govs