By Rita Iliya
Abuja – Gov. Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger, has appealed to Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to help sustain peace at the grassroots in the state.
Bello made the appeal on Monday when he visited the Commandant-General of NSCDC, Mr Abdullahi Gana.
He said that the state, with the largest land mass in the country, needed deployment of more NSCDC personnel in certain local government areas.
He said: “Niger state is a tenth of the country; the largest in terms of land mass. It will take you over 8 hours to travel from one end of the state to another.
“We need more of your men to help us maintain security in most of our councils.
“Whenever there are security challenges in any of our neighbouring states, residents of border villages to these states are the worst hit.
“We need your officers and men at this level to help curtail any incursion and help sustain the peace being enjoyed in the state.”
The governor assured the commandant-general that his administration would look after the welfare of the personnel posted to the state, in addition to providing office accommodation for the command.
He applauded the efforts of the commandant-general at repositioning the corps and stressed the meed for team work among the officer and men for maximum results.
Responding, Abdullahi Gana, pledged that the corps would ensure adequate security of lives and property in Niger state.
He said that plans are underway to organise training for NSCDC personnel on peace to enhance their capacity as peace agents and appealed to the governor to support the initiative.