Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has promised to deploy additional naval security personnel and logistics to routes and flash points of insecurity in Imo State.

Ogalla made the declaration when he visited Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, at the Government House, Owerri.

Accompanied by top naval officials, Ogalla regretted the rising cases of insecurity in the South-east perpetrated by faceless hoodlums, stressing that under his watch, he would ensure that naval officers would contribute immensely to get rid of criminal elements disturbing innocent persons and peace of the community.

He promised to maintain a cordial relationship with the state government.

He said: “The visit is a testimony of the cordial relationship between the state and the Navy in Imo State. It will further cement our working relationship with the Government and people of Imo State.

“The criminal elements in Imo State, especially along the maritime routes, would be ‘destroyed’.”

He solicited for information from the citizens and residents to enable the personnel to perform maximally in the fight against insecurity.

The CNS thanked the governor for assisting the Navy in the state, including connecting the Naval Base to the national grid, and requested for more patrol vans to enable the operatives undertake comprehensive surveillance in the maritime coast axis.

According to him, he also visited Uzodimma to inform him that the report of the hydrographic survey of Oguta Lake to Orashi River and to the Atlantic Ocean was ready for presentation to the governor, stressing, “With this, the project will then move to another level.”

Ogalla also commended Uzodimma for his intervention in the construction of internal roads at the Naval School of Logistics in Owerrinta, Abia State.

The naval chief hinted that a housing scheme would soon commence for the retiring officers in the state, requesting for support to achieve the project, thanking the Imo governor for accepting to receive him and his team at a short notice.

In his response, Uzodimma, who in his capacity as the chairman of the Southeast Governors Forum and the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), assured Ogalla of the willingness of the Southeast governors to support the Navy and other security agencies in carrying out their constitutional mandate.

On behalf of the people of the South-east zone, Uzodimma expressed gratitude to God and President Bola Tinubu for the appointment of Ogalla, stressing that it was the second time a person from Igbo extraction occupied such a position.

He said his administration was committed to reconstructing, rehabilitating and recovering Imo State.

The governor also commended the president for fulfilling his campaign promise of repositioning the economy to compete with other nations.