Abubakar: Zulum Often Risks His Life for Military

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, yesterday, declared that the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has continuously given incredible support to the Nigerian military and in many instances, risked his life visiting frontlines to motivate troops.

The minister made the remarks at the council chamber of the Borno State Government House in Maiduguri.

He said, “My brother (Governor Babagana Zulum), the troops here in Borno and indeed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) asked me to send their appreciation to you for all the support that you have been rendering to the military.

“You have been supporting us in all our operations, thank you most sincerely. Sometimes, you even risk your life supporting and encouraging our personnel, we appreciate you.”

The minister noted that their visit was at the instance of President Bola Tinubu to assess the security situation in the theatre of operations in Borno State in order to see the end of the over a decade of insurgency.

The minister spoke in the presence of his colleague, the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Mutawalle; the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, all of whom were on the trip to Borno State.

In his response, Zulum reiterated commitment to continue to support the Nigerian military in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency across the northeast.

“As Governor of Borno State, In Sha Allah, I will continue to support the Nigerian military with a view to achieving our objective of bringing lasting peace and stability to Borno and by extension, Nigeria. I will continue to provide the political will needed to achieve this objective,” he said.

The governor noted that the security situation in Borno has tremendously improved, he however charged the military to root out the remnants of the insurgents from Sambisa forest, Mandara Mountains and the enclaves in the Lake Chad Basin in order to completely end the insecurity.

He added that stability in the Lake Chad Basin would allow governments from all levels to harness the agricultural potential of the Lake towards achieving President Tinubu’s food security initiative.

Zulum expressed gratitude to the president for the leadership he has been providing to address the problem of insurgency in Borno and other security challenges across the country.