Buhari pledges more resources to deal with insecurity

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured of his commitment to deploy more resources to the military, Police and other security agencies to deal with the deteriorating security situation in the country.

Assessing the state of security, the President described the situation, particularly in the Northwest and North Central as “very disturbing.”

In a message to Nigerians shortly after performing the Eid prayers with his family and aides at the forecourt of the State House, Abuja yesterday, the President said while much had been achieved, security-wise, from the situation he inherited in 2015, more still needed to be done.

He said considering the situation on ground when he came to office, “Nigerians know that we have done our best. However, what is coming out of the Northwest and the North Central is very disturbing.”

Responding to a specific question on the performance of the service chiefs, which he said needed to get better, the President said the military, Police and other security agencies were working hard.

“We are making available resources to them to even do better,” he assured, adding: “From the reports I am getting, they could do much better…they could do much better. But we are keeping them on the alert all the time to do their duties.”

On the issue of corruption, Buhari said all past and present cases would be fully investigated, noting: “This is why we put the commission (of investigation) in place. There has been abuse of trust by people trusted by the previous administration and this administration,” stressing that all of such cases would be uncovered and firmly dealt with by his government.

Speaking on the specific case of the Niger Delta, the President decried the wastage of resources earmarked for the betterment of the lives of the people of that region, lamenting that corruption had been unhelpful in that regard, especially “if you recall there is the 13 per cent derivation.”

He warned against the vandalisation of oil pipelines in the oil-producing areas, which often results in environmental pollution, stating: “Those who are blowing pipelines and interfering with the production of petroleum products are hurting their people more than the rest of Nigerians, because majority of their people are fishermen, fisherwomen and farmers.

“If they pollute the land and the waters, the fish goes into the deeper sea where the people cannot go and they cannot grow anything. They are hurting their immediate communities more than any other thing.”