TheCable

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says the summit of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) will help in finding solutions to the security challenges experienced in the region.

According to Samuel Aruwan, spokesman of the governor, El-Rufai said this when a delegation from ACF paid him a courtesy call at the weekend.

El-Rufai expressed satisfaction with ACF’s plan to organise the summit in Kaduna, and assured the delegation of the support of the government towards its success.

Liman Kwande, deputy chairman of ACF, who led the delegation, told the governor that ACF as a socio-cultural group for all northerners.

He said the forum was worried by the rise in security challenges in the region.

“The recent attacks by suspected herdsmen on some communities in the Godogodo chiefdom, where lives were lost, property destroyed, and most importantly trust among the communities severely damaged, are most condemnable,” he said.

“The rampant kidnapping of innocent people along Kaduna-Abuja expressway among others is great concerns to us.

“These threats to our peace, as a region and collectively as a people, must be addressed by both the government and socio-cultural groups like ACF.

“Therefore, to respond to these serious security challenges, the ACF thought it necessary to organise a northern security summit, where stakeholders will be invited to openly discuss the various forms of insecurity and proffer workable solutions.”