BOKO HARAM: WE'RE TOO FAR FROM PEOPLE -NIGER GOV

Niger State Governor and chairman Northern Governors' Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, said in Abuja yesterday that poverty breeds insecurity. According to him, as Chief Security Officers in the states, his colleagues should fight poverty with all the seriousness it deserves.

He also said it was not true that the North is using the Islamist sect, Boko Haram to fight the Federal Government as claimed by some people over the loss of Presidency in 2011 general elections by the region.

The sect had rendered the North's economy almost comatose as a result of incessant attacks which had led to loss of hundreds of lives and property estimated at billions of Naira.

But speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday, Governor Aliyu said that those making the allegations of such northern plot through Boko Haram are ignorant of the situation in the country.

The governor, spoke when he led chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on a visit to the party's National Working Committee (NWC) in the federal capital.

'I don't think so, because there were situations that power had been lost and those of us who believe in God, we know that at any given time, anything can happen. In a federation, every child of Nigeria, should be given the chance and opportunity to aspire to the greatest leadership.

'Therefore, I don't buy this idea of dividing groups and saying, they do things because of that, because when you say a whole group, nobody had sat down with me to say, because we have lost power, we should do this or that.

'So, if somebody out there, in his ignorance, is doing it because of that, that is unfortunate.

'But I don't think we should succumb to this kind of generalized, statements; I don't think it is right.

'But the governor also identified pervasive poverty in the country as one of the reasons compounding the nation's security challenge.

'As governors who have the authority today, we must really fight poverty, we must reduce the ostentatious lifestyles that we are involved and go back to the grassroot and fight poverty, fight injustice and ensure that we are with our communities. This idea of isolation will not augur well; we have seen it and we must go back to the basics.'

He noted that the governors are concerned by the security challenge and all hands must be on deck to find lasting solution to the menace.

'I believe that all the governors are doing their best to keep their respective states and we believe that the Federal Government is also doing more; probably what we are surprised and what we have been shown is that weren't prepared for the terrorists thing, because if five, 10 years ago, any Nigerian had been told that such a thing could happen, he would have said it was impossible.

But as Chief Security Officer of my state, I am not leaving any stone unturned, and as chairman of Governors' Forum, we have been communicating with one another, we have an understanding on how to go about some of these things,' Gov. Aliyu said.

Addressing the PDP's NWC, Governor Aliyu admonished elected public office holders on the party platform to subject themselves to the national leadership of the party.

In his remarks, National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, admonished all those elected PDP officials to implement, faithfully the party's manifesto.

'PDP is the party that gave us opportunity to serve and therefore, we should be loyal and committed to its manifesto, because it is a promise we gave our supporters. Therefore, it is a contract we must honour. In Nigeria, there is a lot to be done, in terms of our social contract to the people,'' Tukur said.