Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to
grant licences to responsible citizens to carry sophisticated weapons
such as AK47 to deter criminals from attacking innocent and helpless
Nigerians.
He says the policy should be backed by a strict legal framework to
prevent illegal possession of arms by the citizenry without exception.
These were some of the submissions contained in the paper Governor Ortom
presented yesterday during the virtual meeting convened by Centre for
Values in Leadership, CVL, in collaboration with Nigeria Governors’
Forum, NGF.
In the paper titled ‘Insecurity and Governance Challenges in the New
Normal’, the Governor said governments at all levels must come to terms
with the fact that insecurity is a real threat to the development of the
country and be willing to sincerely tackle the menace.
He also recommended adequate funding of security agencies and continuous
training of their personnel to enable them to be abreast of global
dynamics in the fight against insecurity.
The Governor urged the Federal Government to embrace ranching as it is
the global best practice of animal husbandry and enacts a law to end
open grazing which often comes with attacks on farming communities by
armed herdsmen militia.
Governor Ortom also advocated improved educational standards and
enhanced public enlightenment campaigns to give the people, particularly
youths the needed orientation to shun negative acts and become more
patriotic.
He called for the repositioning of the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency through training, funding and logistics to successfully confront
drug barons and peddlers; a move he said would stop illegal drugs from
entering and circulating in the country.
Governor Ortom also recommended that the embargo on employment be lifted
and more job opportunities created to take Nigerian youths from the
streets.
He tasked the federal, state, and local governments to show greater
commitment to developing the agricultural value chain to generate more
jobs for Nigerians.
Governor Ortom concluded his presentation by stating that Benue State
has made significant contributions to national development and as the
food basket of the nation, if the state is threatened by insecurity, the
negative impact would be on the entire country.
He, therefore, solicited the support of all stakeholders in tackling
security challenges and pledged the resolve of his administration to
ensure the safety of lives and property.