Governor Hope Uzodinma briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the economy and stability in Imo.
After a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja, Uzodinma told State House correspondents that some politicians were to blame for the growing cases of banditry in the country.
He also warned Nigerians that certain politicians were bent on overthrowing legitimate authorities for personal gain.
As a result, the governor said that all Nigerians must unite against such destructive forces.
He said: “Those funding this banditry are politicians, which I challenge and call on security agencies to make their names available to the Press because what they want to do is to distract a government that is focused.
“If this government is not doing well, I’ll be one of those that would have declared that the government is not doing well.
“But a situation where you’ll leave the formal way, ethical way of doing politics, and you are now sponsoring banditry to bring down a government, for Christ’s sake, we should rise up and condemn it, all of us.”
Nigeria’s stability, according to the governor, cannot be jeopardized for any cause.
He urged those advocating secession to abandon their plans and join the government, as well as all well-intentioned Nigerians, in moving the country forward.
Nigeria, he claims, is well funded, and people should band together to reap the rewards of such endowments.
“I don’t think that I will support any call for secession, I want a united, strong Nigeria. Our strength is in our diversity and today, we are supposed to play a leading role in this continent.
“We don’t want to whittle down our strength, rather, what I advise is that we must appreciate the gift of nature in our land and the support government. This country is blessed by God,” he added.
Uzodinma announced that about 50 suspects had been arrested in connection with recent attacks on security formations in the state.
“As at the last count, we arrested almost 40 to 50 people, who also made useful statements and confessed to the crime.
“I continue to tell you that this issue of banditry is something that we must all rise up as people to condemn and then support security agencies to be able to provide an enabling environment for people to go about their businesses, without fear of any molestation.
“The job of security of a country cannot be left to security agencies alone.
“The job requires the citizenry to support security agencies through intelligence gathering, also leaders at all levels, including traditional leaderships, to support government because the bandits stay among us, the criminals live among us.
“And if we’re not in position to report them, or report their activities to security agencies, then we are undoing ourselves,’’ he added.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
