TheCable

Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, has commended the Nigerian army for the improved security in the state.

Speaking on Tuesday when he hosted Hassan Dada, general officer commanding (GOC) 82 division of the Nigerian army, Enugu, at the Government House, Mbah said security agencies have supported his administration to end the sit-at-home in the state.

He said the improved security would aid his administration’s promise to grow the state’s economy and drive private-sector investment.

“But one key thing is that private sector investment will not happen if we do not have peace and security,” Mbah said.

“That was why when we took over, we immediately identified the security challenge and the sit-at-home as the big elephant in the room.

“We recognised that the continual Monday sit-at-home was not only creating this perception of insecurity in our state, but it was also doing so much damage to our psychology as a people, our social well-being and our economy.

“We moved against it and made a pronouncement to put an end to Monday’s sit-at-home.

“So, I want to immediately put on record our profound appreciation and our immense gratitude for the support, dedication, and commitment we have continued to receive from the military, particularly the army, in our quest to have a peaceful and secure Enugu state.

“I also want to put on record that we have enjoyed tremendous support in not only getting the various security agencies to buy into this end to sit-at-home but also in practice getting them to deploy enough security to ensure the protection of lives and property, particularly concerning the enforcers of the illegal sit-at-home.

“We want to thank you in particular because of the sort of dedication and commitment we have witnessed in you and we must also by extension express our profound gratitude to the chief of army staff for bringing you here because we can see that not only have we been able to escort this big elephant called sit-at-home out of our state, but we are also enjoying a relatively peaceful and secure environment in our state today.”

Mbah asked the security agencies not to rest on their oars, adding that “we are still at our highest alert level until we are completely sure that these criminals are nowhere close to our state”.

In his remarks, Dada said the army will continue to ensure there is peace and stability in the south-east state.