Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi on Tuesday in Abakaliki said that the people of Ebonyi were ready to resist security outfits which undo them and would not cooperate with them.
Umahi made the assertion while receiving the new Commissioner of Police to the state, CP Musa Kimo, and the Board Member representing the South-East Zone at the National Boundary Commission, Ugonna Uzor-Kalu.
The governor noted that the government and the people were not soliciting favours from security outfits but only professionalism, forthrightness and fear of God.
He said: “Security operatives must be upright, professional and impartial in their approach as the state is raising a society to resist security operatives which does wrong.
“I must confess that when you were to be posted the state, we fought that you should not come because I was at peace with your predecessor, CP Titus Lamorde.
“We fought, especially when the opposition boasted that they were the ones bringing you to fight us but we were ready to fight back and insist that you should not come.
“We had to make some moves to stop you until someone that is highly placed told us to find out your pedigree and we discovered your forthrightness, professionalism and fear of God.
“We then had to relax, wait and watch because in this part of the world people even oppose righteousness as somebody told me that people are paid to oppose, no matter how good you are.
“It is an act of satanism for anyone to use security agencies to oppress other people and we would only work with those that are professional in their approach.”
The governor informed the commissioner that Ebonyi is peaceful, has very good political atmosphere, low crime rate and enjoyed relative peace with neighbours, especially at its boundary areas.
Umahi said: “You have a lot to fight against: maintaining and improving on the existing security in the state, maintaining peace with our neighbours, especially with the elections approaching.
“You may not even have time to fight political opponents as my spirit has borne witness that you are upright and a professional.”
Umahi while receiving Uzor-Kalu, the South-East representative at the NBC, said she came at a critical period in the state’s affairs.
He said: “We are having a lot of crisis with Cross River, Benue and within the region with Enugu and Abia as the state spends a lot of money on the police, State Security Service and army who enforce peace in these areas.
“You should solve the boundary issues we have with Enugu and Abia and liaise with the authorities in the South-South and North Central Zones on the disputes with Cross River and Benue.”
He noted that he had fruitful deliberations with the Cross River governor on ways of permanently solving the problem, adding that the human and material losses recorded in conflicts were regrettable.
Umahi said: “I was the deputy governor who oversaw affairs concerning the conflict and report that it was all noise and no motion with nothing much achieved.”
Kimo, the new Commissioner of Police, thanked the governor for receiving him, noting that his predecessor intimated him that the governor was security and police friendly.
He said: “I was posted to Ebonyi by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and saw it expedient to pay a courtesy call as the chief security officer of the state.”
Uzor-Kalu, the NBC South-East Board Member, commended the governor for his efforts in ensuring that lasting peace pervaded in warring communities of the state and those of neigbouring states.
She said: “I intend to hold meetings with relevant stakeholders in the state to have insight on the intra/inter-boundary disputes in Ebonyi and its neighbours, charting a problem-solving strategy in the process.
“Knowing that the main causes of conflicts in these areas are forest reserves and farmlands, we will explore the traditional options in permanently solving the conflicts.”
Trending
- Man, 27, arraigned for allegedly raping a 20-year-old woman
- Couple jailed four months each for criminal breach of trust
- Court quashes Dabe’s suit, awards Ojukwu’s will to Bianca
- Breaking: Secondus, Sekibo, others declare support for Tinubu, Fubara
- Access Holdings Plc reports strong FY2023 financial performance
- Husk Power closes $20m in financing from EIB to scale in Nigeria
- Onitsha residents protest attempt to discredit Governor Soludo
- Slain Soldiers: Senate Whip lauds Tinubu’s ‘patriotic recognition’