Awka – In response to the recent upsurge in criminal activities across parts of the State, Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has said his government is committed to bringing back sanity to the state after the carnage that trailed the ENDSARS protest in the state.
According to the governor, adequate security of lives and property is a prerequisite for businesses and investments to thrive.
Obiano was speaking when he held an interactive session with students in the Nigeria Study Tour Group 8, Senior Course Forty-three of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jos Plateau state.
The event took place at the Governor’s Lodge Amawbia.
The students, made up of senior officers from the Nigeria Navy, Air Force, Army, an officer from the Counter-terrorism Unit of the Nigeria Police Force as well a man from the Department of State Security, DSS, are in the state as part of a mandatory research course to help the students create an academic balance and expand their knowledge of the society.
The central focus of the lecture was on COVID-19 and efforts made by the Anambra State Government to checkmate the pandemic in the state and the way forward.
Governor Obiano who commended the choice of theme for the lecture as very relevant, regretted the negative impact of the pandemic and its attendant economic challenges.
The Governor further highlighted the vision, mission statements and economic blueprints, as well as pillars and enablers of his administration, stressing that his administration has been pursuing the vision and mission which is gradually coming to fruition.
“It is our vision to create an economically sustainable environment that will be a hub for commerce and development of industries in Nigeria. For us to achieve these, there must be watertight security so that investors can have the confidence to bring their wealth here. Before the ENDSARS protests, we were doing well but following its hijack by some hoodlums, we began to record some security challenges. But as a government, we have responded immediately and evolved strategies to address the issue and gradually, we are restoring stability to the state,” he said.
The governor revealed that his government has procured operational vehicles to replace those burned during the ENDSARS violence while compensation has been paid to the families of those who lost their lives in the course of the violence.
This he noted, was to help lift the morale of the security men.
Obiano attributed the numerous successes recorded in the area of security in the state to the synergy among the security agents, promising to sustain the development to the benefit of Anambra citizens and residents.
He applauded the composition of participants in the college, which also include people from Ghana and Chad, saying that the interaction will help them better understand the system.
The officers were led by Brigadier General John Oluwasegun Adeyomo who said that the special training is focused on standardization, aimed towards accomplishing the constitutional role of the armed forces of Nigeria.
He noted that the training will avail the students opportunity to know Nigeria and thanked the Governor for accepting to host them, all geared towards effective realization of the strategic objective of the study.
In a vote of thanks Major J.A Adeye said that they did a major study tour of the state, noting that it has been very educative and instructive, as it has helped them to understand the effort of the state government in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
They assured that the knowledge garnered will be put to good use.
As part of their study, the senior officers comprising staff and students, visited Government House where they interacted with the Secretary to the State Government , Commissioner for Health, Special Adviser on Security, the state Police Command, Department of State Services, among others, having being in the state for days.
