By Sam Kayode
Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, has described the Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, as the ‘Champion on the fight against insecurity.’
He made the remark during his maiden visit to the Government House, Maiduguri to extend partnership on security matters with Zulum even as he re-enforced the might of troops in the Hadin Kai operational sector.
He said that he believes that the challenge of security in the war theatre cannot be addressed without partnership with the civilian authorities which is why he was visiting the “champion against insecurity” to ensure that the conflict ends once and for all.
“I believe that intensive collaboration will bring an end to this conflict. We have been fighting for about 15 years now and I believe it is high time we stop the whole thing”, said the Army Chief.
Responding, Governor Babagana Zulum commiserated with the Nigerian Army over the demise of its late Chief, Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, who died after a protracted illness.
Governor Zulum assured the Army that as long as he was the chair of the North-east Governor’s Forum, there was the guarantee of a full support from the entire governors to the campaign by the military in their bid to end the war.
While commending the Theatre Commander, GOC 7 Division of the Army and troops in the theatre for their resilience, he assured Oluyede that he would surely support a fruitful partnership that would end the war accordingly.
The Governor called for all military operations in the theatre to follow what he described as “stabilization mechanisms” which will enable him to rehabilitate and resettle more territories captured from the insurgents in the shortest possible time.
