Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has commended officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force for their key role in decimating Boko Haram insurgents in the North East part of the country.
Governor Oshiomhole was speaking, on Tuesday, in Benin City, when he played host to the the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Sidique Abubakar represented by Air Vice Marshall SS Adamu and other officers who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
Oshiomhole said: “Let me use this opportunity to convey through you to the Chief of Air Staff, that we in Edo State appreciate the huge sacrifice the Armed Forces are making to keep Nigeria safe, particularly with reference to Boko Haram. I know that the Air Force has been active in that battle, and I believe that if reports are anything to go by, that we are winning, obviously the audacity with which the insurgents were spreading freely to occupy more territories and frightening everybody.
“So, you have been able to confine them to one area, and they are under severe pressure, I believe the armed forces have shown that with the correct commander-in-chief, the armed forces have the capacity and capability to deal with those insurgents. We in Edo State appreciate and I know that your officers and men have paid some price. So, convey to him our appreciation and commendation for your role in keeping these criminals out of business.
“Let me on behalf of myself, government and people of Edo State welcome you very warmly to Benin City, and thank you for taking time for the courtesy visit and for all you have said. We here in Edo State, appreciate the role of the Armed Forces. We see the Armed Forces as very prominent part of the Edo community and society. And therefore, whatever we can do, we will do because the primary purpose of government is to look after communities and look after all the various interests, in your case the Armed Forces.”
“We will like to appreciate the Chief of the Air Staff and all the senior officers in the Air Force for your decision to build a secondary school in Edo State. I have no doubt there are a couple of benefits that are inherent in the siting of any institution.
“So, I assure you that we will communicate with the community, we have a duty to enlighten them, to educate them. We will remind them that we are under the rule of law. In our investment in Edo State, we recognize the need to interact with the communities, because we will not allow a situation where, under the guise of representing community interest undermine the development of our State. So, we will get those communities to respect the laws of the land.”
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Air Vice Marshall S.S. Adamu said they were in the Government House to seek the support of the State Government in the documentation of the pieces of our land in Edo State.
“We are planning to build a secondary school for the Air Force and the youths of Edo State community, but now we have a dispute with the community on the land. Already as I said earlier, we have the C of O. So, we would like the intervention of Your Excellency so that we can start the development of that land. If we have prolonged litigation, we wouldn’t know how the matter will end up. And the administration is very serious about having a secondary school in Edo State on that piece of land.”
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and Air Vice Marshall SS Adamu, representing the Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshall Sadique Abubakar, during a courtesy visit to the Governor in Benin City, Tuesday.
