From Our Government House Correspondent
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state, has welcomed the decision of the Defense Headquarters to restructure Operation Whirl Stroke, pledging continued support for the military to ensure that Nasarawa State remains peaceful.
Governor Sule made this known when he hosted the Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, which covers Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba States, Major General Sunday Iserimen Igbinomwanhia, at the Government House on Friday.
While appreciating the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, for the initiative to restructure Operation Whirl Stroke, the Governor assured the continued support of his administration to ensure the operation's success.
He particularly appreciated Nasarawa State's distinct field of operation, now separated from that of Benue and Taraba States.
"Let me also thank the CDS for initiating this new arrangement, which is going to be better for each of the states you indicated. For Nasarawa State, now to be separated into various sectors, and each sector with an officer to take command of a particular local government area, is wonderful. This is exactly what the state has been looking forward to. It's not only within the civil service that we are having reforms. Now, it's taking place even within the military. This is going to help us in the state," he stated.
The Governor emphasized that his administration would support the new arrangement.
"We will look at it and see whatever support we can give. There is nothing that is too much for us as far as the security of our people is concerned. We take that very seriously in Nasarawa State. And we would continue to thank you for the good job that you are doing," he added.
He used the opportunity to highlight the significance his administration places on security, especially with various interventions coming into the state.
"I just visited the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security where the ministry availed us of the opportunities that would come to our state. First, they would need 500 hectares of land to cultivate for the dry season farming, and eventually, we are going to 1000 hectares, all for crop production.
Just yesterday, I was with Mr. President and the Minister of Housing, and we were discussing what Nasarawa State would provide for the Renewed Hope Housing Estate, because of our proximity to the FCT. All these cannot happen if there is no peace," the Governor said.
He equally promised to mobilize intelligence to facilitate the work of the security operatives in the state.
"We will continue to support you as far as we are concerned with all the needed logistics. Just like you said you will protect us, we will also provide you with the intelligence, with all the information that you need. Because security is everybody's responsibility," he said.
Governor Sule also used the opportunity to offer condolences to the military over the loss of three soldiers while on an operation in Nasarawa Local Government Area.
He thereafter directed the Commissioner on Special Duties, Security, and Public Matters, Hon. Timothy Kasuwa, as well as the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Barrister Mohammed Ubandoma Aliyu, to liaise with the Nasarawa State Sector Commander for Operation Whirl Stroke, Colonel Hassan, with a view to facilitating the establishment of a command headquarters in Lafia.
In his opening remarks, Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, Major General Sunday Iserimen Igbinomwanhia, said the restructuring of Operation Whirl Stroke by the Defense Headquarters was meant to fill up the gap discovered after careful review of the operation in the past five years.
According to the force commander, with the new arrangement, units in Nasarawa State have been inducted into the operation, with Operation Whirl Stroke restructured to have a sector in each of the three states.
"Formerly, we had like 6 sectors scattered all over these three states, but with this restructuring, we have three sectors, namely Sector 1 in Benue State, Sector 2 in Nasarawa State, and Sector 3 in Taraba," he said.
General Igbinomwanhia disclosed that Colonel Hassan, originally from the 4SF Command Garrison in Doma, will serve as the Sector Commander in Nasarawa State, with sub-sector Commanders taking charge of designated local government areas.
"What we tried to achieve is that every nook and cranny of the state would be covered. That is why we have contiguous local governments grouped together under a Commander with troops to conduct patrols and all operations, raids in these local governments, to prevent threats to security.
"We all know that threats to security in our joint operations area include terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, and all other forms of criminality that threaten the peace and security of our people, especially our hard-working people who go to farm. We are talking about food security, the military is ready to contribute to ensuring that there is food security by ensuring that there is security for our farmers," General Igbinomwanhia stated.
He added that joint military operatives under Operation Whirl Stroke will carry out block operations across the three states to prevent criminals from crossing borders.
The force commander, however, requested the intervention of the Governor to facilitate the establishment of the command's headquarters in Lafia.
"We thank you for your support and commitment to the security of the state and the nation at large. We will make every effort to make sure your vision for security in the state is achieved," he said.
General Igbinomwanhia also warned that the command would not tolerate incidents where security agencies would use their uniform to molest the civilian population, urging the authorities to always report such incidents.
