Former Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial district, Smart Adeyemi has condemned incessant banditry attacks in Kogi State, especially in the okun-Yoruba speaking areas, even as he commended the state governor, Alhaji Usman Ododo for his prompt responses and commitments in tackling the menace.
Adeyemi in a strong worded press statement made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Tuesday specifically doffed his hats for Ododo for his quick responses to the people’s distress and for personally going into the forest and the affected communities to see things by himself.
He said these actions have truly shown that Governor Ododo is a truly committed leader who loves his people and can go extra miles to ensure peace and tranquility reign in the state.
Senator Adeyemi also commended the State Security Adviser, retired Comdr Jerry Omodara for working round the clock with security agencies to ensure that crime and criminalities in the state are reduced to the barest minimum.
The statement reads in part : “I want to sincerely commend Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his relentless efforts and his personal involvement in the war against terrorism in Kogi State.
“And I also want to commend him for the security equipment he has acquired, and the ones he is still acquiring in order to keep our people safe, especially the drones and armoured vehicles he has just newly acquired
“I am particularly concerned because the terrorists, to a large extent, have seen Kogi West as a better, very fertile ground to carry out their banditry because of the enormous resources, human and material resources that abound in Kogi West.
“Many of them are into mining and that accounts for the high population of strange foreigners who are not Nigerians already occupying a large portion of our forests.
“It gladdens my heart to see the governor personally entering the forest for on -the -spot assessment of what is happening.
“I commend the resources being channeled towards keeping our people safe as the primary responsibility of any good government is the protection of life and property of the people which governor Ododo is doing very well.
“I equally want to commend his special advisor on security, Commander Jerry Omodara, rtd, who has been so outstanding in this war against terrorism.
“I have personally monitored him most of the time in late night operations going through thick forests in pursuit of the bandits .
“I have had cause to call Omodara in those odd hours and he would sometimes needed to show me live videos in the forest.
“I wish the Governor to continue with this spirit, as not only that the people are praying for him, that his own God too will not forsake him.
“It is a war that must be won, and I’m not in doubt that there is a good team.
“The combination of the Governor and Special Adviser are doing tremendous work.
“Both late nights, the Governor himself is seen moving around highly volatile areas.
“I’ve taken my time to study the problem of insurgency across the state, especially in the west and in the eastern central districts, and I commend the Governor, and I wish that this war will continue until all the terrorists are rid off in our territory.”
Senator Adeyemi also appreciated president Bola Tinubu for all the supports he has given the state to ensure that the people live in peace and stressed that his re+election is a done deal.
While commiserating with families of victims that lost their lives, Adeyemi also sympathized with those still in captivity.
He then urged residents of various communities in Kogi West to form themselves into vigilante groups to complement efforts of government in the fight against banditry
“Our people should be rest assured that we have a government that is very much committed to the safety of life and property of our people, and that very soon, this crisis will be over, especially with the amount of resources being put to acquire sophisticated equipment.
“I also encourage our people to form viable vigilante groups so as to back up what the government is doing.
“And our people should bear in mind that we have never been conquered by any foreign invaders from time immemorial.
“And in this one, with the support of the federal government, of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Usman Ododo and the Special Adviser, on security, Cmdr Jerry Omodara, we will definitely overcome the invaders,” the statement added.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
