President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with three Northern governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The separate meetings centred on the spate of insecurity in their states.
The governors who met with Buhari were Aminu Masari (Katsina), Abdulahi Sule (Nasarawa) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba).
The governors requested the President’s assistance to end activities of bandits and terrorists in their states.
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, had on Monday night visited the President on the same issue.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, Masari said Northern states must collaborate to tackle the security challenges in the North West region.
Masari, who led a delegation of elders from Katsina to the closed-door meeting with the President, said, “I think what is most important for us to succeed in fighting these bandits is for all of us in the states, especially the Northwestern states to take the pains and work together to make sure that we block all the loopholes.
“But if one state has a policy and another has a different one, certainly they (terrorists) will always be moving from one state to another. Luckily enough, we are already working closely with states that border us, like Nasarawa and Niger, to bring the problem to a manageable and tolerable level.”
On the recent killing of the state Commissioner for Science and Technology, Rabe Nasir, Masari said the incident had nothing to do with banditry.
According to him, it was a case of assassination.
Also speaking, Sule of Nasarawa State told reporters that he met the President to thank him for the support being received by his state over security.
He said: “I came to express appreciation to Mr President for all the support we have continued to receive in the area of security.
“You must have heard, there were several joint operations of the special forces; the military, the police, together with vigilante, the Air Force and the Navy in the two local government areas bordering Abuja and as a result, the various operations have been very successful.
“Recently, some of our schools were being targeted, and actions were taken and then we thank almighty God that we’ve been able to dislodge those.”
On the Boko Haram insurgents that had gathered in parts of the state, Sule claimed that they had been dispersed.
On his part, Ishaku of Taraba state told State House correspondents that he briefed the President on the recent attack on parts of the state by armed soldiers from Cameroon.
He said he requested assistance from the Federal Government to tackle security and other issues in the state.
He said: “First, I came to see Mr President on security issues. If you remember, some weeks back, there was an attack in Taraba state, specifically, at Manga, which has a boundary with Cameroon. It was invaded by Ambazonia separatists from Southern Cameroon. They killed 11 people, including the chief of the small town.
“And I have not been able to see Mr President because of his busy schedule and his travels. So, I am fortunate today to have an appointment with him; to brief him on details about what transpired and need to give us some assistance in that axis. It was a very cordial discussion and I am happy.”
Punch
