From Magnus Eze, Enugu
The Enugu State House of Assembly has passed a motion calling on all stakeholders to support the commendable effort of the state governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, in tackling the security situation in the state.
The House stated that all hands must be on deck, noting that there must be community involvement from the grassroots in security.
Chairman, House Committee on Information, Jeff Mbah told Daily Sun that the collaborative approach became necessary because the federal security agencies were no longer enough.
He said the House commended lauded the establishment of Forest Guards by the governor and other of his concerted effort in the area of security.
“The motion mainly called on stakeholders of every community to support the effort of His Excellency in tackling insecurity considering the enormous resources he has invested already.
“We can no longer rely wholly on federal security agencies because we have seen sabotage and compromises here and there,” the lawmaker said.
He recalled that Enugu State had been one of the safest states in the country since the administration of Ugwuanyi, and blamed some enemies of the government who were bent on soiling that record, for the current happenings there.
The lawmaker explained: “What we are saying is that the insecurity in the state is no longer what we will leave for the state government alone or the regular security apparatus. That because of the skirmishes here and there, suspects within the federal security agencies, that we want the communities to own the security issue.
“Get the stakeholders, get everybody together, especially in case of gathering intelligence, so that we will nip the problem in the bud. That the state has invested so much and that is why for the past seven years, Enugu is rated as the most peaceful state in the federation and we cannot in these few months turn everything.
“That the communities and stakeholders need to be part of the security. To sensitize people so that if they hear anything, you report. If you have people in the community who are contributing to the insecurity in the community, you let certain quarters know so that it will be easy for the government, with all the effort, to be able to achieve results.”
Continuing, he said that “it is more like initiating an all-inclusive method to ensure that there is peace especially this Christmas period. So, we are not calling on the Governor as if the Governor has failed. No, that is not the issue.”
