FG not sincere in fight against insecurity, Wike says

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By Aiyeku Timothy

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Federal Government of insincerity in its fight against insecurity in the country.

Wike, who spoke on Sunday evening, said the government has politicised its fight against insecurity.

The governor stressed that the Federal Government was not doing enough to tackle security threats in states while noting that the community policing efforts of the Federal Government was a charade.

His words: “Our concern is to make sure they provide security for this country. That is what they would say. Now, how have they made sure they made provision for the security of lives and property in each state for us to have confidence and trust in the government?

“Take for example, we came up with a proposal to say in order to help the security agencies incapacitated in terms of manpower, we came up with a neighbourhood watch to give intelligence to help us to work. That was the decision of the Security Council, not my decision, not the party’s decision.

“The assembly approved it. We went ahead to appoint people who are retired security officers. We wrote to the army, to the SSS, to the police to make sure they profiled those who have applied to help in terms of security and they all certified them.

“It did not only end there, we wrote to NYSC to use its camp for training so that it does not look like we were training militants. They agreed and the police and the SSS were involved. But the former Chief of Army Staff, General (Tukur) Buratai sent his men from the state division to make sure that it never took place and to arrest and detain all of them.

“The army has so much involved in politics. So, I cannot believe that the Federal Government is serious about community policing. That is politics and I don’t want anybody to mislead me, to deceive me.”

On the way forward, Wike said, “The truth of the matter is that if we want this country to move forward, the state must take control of the security apparatus of their states. I know the local governments and the communities, so I should be able to say this is what we should do in policing this area.”

Meanwhile, President Buhari has appointed new service chiefs after cries by Nigerians for a new approach with different security heads.

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