Buhari hosts northern governors over rising insecurity

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday, held a closed-door meeting with some Northern governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting, as later revealed, was convened to discuss the security situation in the 19 northern states.

While addressing reporters after the meeting, the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, said peace was slowly returning to the region as a result of the security roadmap adopted by the federal and state governments to secure the north.

On the meeting with the President, the governor said, “We discussed security, not just for my state, but the Northern region, because of the current escalation of insecurity.

“I briefed him and the governor of Niger also briefed him. The President has assured us that action will be taken on what we discussed.”The governor assured farmers that they could safely return to their farms this planting season as stability returned.

Matawalle added that Zamfara had been calm for the past four months as security agents continued to ensure things did not escalate further.

Asked if the north was finally secure, Matawalle said, “I can say yes because in the past four months, we didn’t have much of this crisis; but it’s gradually coming back. The security agencies are doing their best now, particularly from the new security architecture that we have adopted; we are having some improvements on the challenges.

“With action and the roadmap that we have drawn, between the government and the security, we are doing our best to make sure that farmers will go back to their farms and they will be able to farm, Insha Allah.”