I Won’t Compromise Security In Bauchi – Governor Mohammed

BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has assured that his administration would not in any material particular compromise the security of lives and properties of the people in the state irrespective of the challenges.

This is as Governor Mohammed noted that the location of the state as the gate-way to the North-east, North-central and North-west has made it susceptible to various security challenges in recent times.

Mohammed, who stated this on Monday, when he received a delegation of participants of the National Institute of Security Studies, Course 14, at the Government House, said that the state is facing challenges in terms of demographics, migration and immigration due to people running from centres that are devastated by insecurity in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, adding that the influx of migrants into the state has overstretched the infrastructures of the state.

According to Mohammed; “Our population has risen from the official record of 6.5 million to about 10 million in Bauchi, thereby overstretching our services and infrastructures. We have the highest number of out-of-school children and therefore there is unemployment, youth restiveness and of course there are infrastructure and service gaps in health, in education and even in our transportation and the rest. There is high expectations from the polity thereby overstretching our security agencies”.

Mohammed also said that his administration is funding a joint patrol team that is very robust to ensure that security agencies with the military are always on their toes in maintaining the peace in the state, particularly the local governments that are more vulnerable because of the exposure.

“We are very conscious if there is religious tension in the Plateau, Bauchi will receive the barrage of people that are running even in Kano. If there is any religious tension, it comes here and of course from the northwest when we have these issues of banditry through Kaduna, we are bordered by them.

“We have been able to chart the moment of all those security challenges from the Northwest, they come through Toro local government to Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Alkaleri and of course, most of those people are bandits and armed robbers, criminals and of course you know our Jigawa, Gamawa, Zaki that is where we border Yobe and we have those coming with the Boko Haram tendencies”.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mrs Emiloye Oyeyele, said that 66 participants of the institute are currently undergoing a 10 months course, leading to the award of fellows, adding that the 17 participants in her delegation are members of syndicate 4.

She said that the purpose of their visit was to tap from Governor Mohammed’s wealth of experience in governance, particularly how he successfully managed the security challenges in the state.