By Samuel Ogidan
Abuja
Niger state under Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has successfully contained the menace of insurgency.
This was disclosed yesterday by former chief of staff to Governor Aliyu, Umar Mohammed Nasko, when he came to submit his governorship nomination and expression of interest form at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat in Abuja.
Fielding questions from journalists at the secretariat, Nasko said: “We have been able to contain threats of insurgents in Niger State and I make bold to say that Niger State is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria today and I have been part of whatever was done to ensure the peace was achieved.
“I assure that I will build on this to ensure the best security in the state. This is one of my top priorities. Security issues are very confidential in terms of strategy. It is not something I will disclose to the media.”
He added, “I have been working very closely with the Chief Servant, I have attended several security council meetings as Chief of Staff and I know the various strategies that were taken to tackle the different insurgencies that happened in the state but which they were nipped in the bud.”
He, however, noted that Niger state had a lot to contribute towards the development and growth of the country especially in terms of unity and security.
He said: “I have been in class, learnt from a legendary teacher, in person of Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, I have sat in front roll and I believe I have been a very good student, I have come out top of my class and I believe I am ready and I believe I have the blessing of my teacher to ensure that I carry out this assignment and my assignment is to consolidate on the vision that we have set out for ourselves as a people.
“We have a long way to go but we have made remarkable achievements so far in terms of education. Poverty index in Nigeria, Niger has been rated the lowest, we believe that all these have been achieved within this short period of seven years.”