Governor Mbah commends Army for improved security, peace in Enugu

Barr Peter Mbah, governor of Nigeria’s state of Enugu, has praised the security forces for bringing an end to a sit-at-home strike and for bolstering safety throughout the state.

However, the Army has assured residents that they are safe to go about their daily lives because of the large number of personnel and equipment already deployed around the State.

On Tuesday, the Governor of Enugu State presented a commendation to Major General Hassan Dada, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 82nd Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu.

He claimed that increased safety would support his administration’s pledge to expand the State’s economy in an unprecedented fashion through private sector investment.

However, a crucial point is that we cannot have investment from the private sector unless we have peace and stability. That’s why, upon becoming leadership, we recognised the security threat and the stay-at-home workforce as the two most pressing concerns.

We realised that the weekly Monday stay-in was damaging not only our state’s reputation for safety, but also our collective psyche, our communities, and our economy. We took action against it and issued a statement ending the practise of staying home on Mondays.

So, I’d like to thank the military, especially the army, for their unwavering support of our effort to make Enugu State safer and more secure by saying, “I want to immediately put on record our great thanks and our immense gratitude.

“I also want to put on record that we have enjoyed tremendous support in not only getting the various security agencies to buy into this end to sit-at-home but also, in practise, getting them to deploy enough security to ensure the protection of lives and property, particularly with respect to the enforcers of the illegal sit-at-home.

Since “we can see that not only have we been able to escort this big elephant called sit-at-home out of our state, but we are also enjoying a relatively peaceful and secure environment in our state today,” he said, “we want to thank you in particular because of the sort of dedication and commitment we have witnessed in you and we must also by extension express our profound gratitude to the Chief of Army Staff for bringing you here.”

However, Mbah urged the military and the security agencies to not rest on their oars, saying that the criminals who previously terrorised the people have resorted to social media propaganda now that they have lost the battle.

The time has come where we can no longer afford to coast. We must not expect that our opportunistic adversaries will take it easy.

It is not yet time to Uhuru, so we urge you and your crew to be alert. Until we have hard evidence that these offenders have moved on to another state, we will remain on high alert.

For his part, he promised that the administration will keep working with the police and other security forces to keep the peace.

General Dada had earlier praised Governor Mbah for his leadership against insecurity and illegal sit-at-homes, stating that the Army and the security agencies, with the governor’s backing, have restored security in Enugu State.

On a familiarisation tour with the South Eastern Army’s top brass, the GOC said, “Let me assure you that with the support of my bosses, the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff, things can only but get better.”