Borno state governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, Sunday, congratulated the new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya, who assumed office Friday.
Zulum, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s choice of a serving Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai headquartered in Borno state once again reflects Buhari’s consistency of making the insurgency affecting the North-east the priority of his presidency.
“With the appointment of General Yahaya, the country has retained the advantage of having in place, service chiefs who have all served in Borno and have sufficient operational knowledge in the fight against Boko Haram and ISWAP.
“While congratulating the new Chief of Army Staff, I will like to gladly acknowledge that Mr. President’s choice of Major General Farouk Yahaya, who was in Maiduguri as Theatre Commander of the joint armed forces battle against insurgents was the right choice.
“He was a deliberate reaffirmation of Mr. President’s consistency of placing the insurgency facing the North-east, as the top most priority of the presidency.
“Because, addressing the insurgency in the North-east has the potential of stabilising the nation in general. It is worth recollecting that both the late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and current Chief of Defence Staff, General Leo Irabor, were appointed based on their experiences of having served as Theatre Commanders in Borno, leading operations against insurgents.
“Similarly, the current Chief of Air Staff, had also served as Deputy Theatre Commander in Borno, while the Chief of Naval Staff had also served in Borno, with insight on counter insurgency operations.
“It is clear that Mr. President is focused on the North-east, given the fact that the insurgency challenge has lingered for 12 years now and had resulted in countless deaths, displacements of citizens and destructions of communities,” Zulum said.
He said he was optimistic that with their experiences and knowledge of the insurgency in the northeast, the Service Chiefs alongside other heads of security establishments at the national and geo-political levels, will combine efforts to end the insurgency as soon as it happens.