Gov. Abdullahi Sule
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has blamed the banditry in Zamfara State on illegal mining being carried out in the state, adding that those stoking problems in the north-west were interested in illegal mining.“I think that is the right decision to make. One of the problems we have been facing in Zamfara State and some of these places where mining activities are going on”, he stated during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He added that those who are actually igniting these problems in Zamfara State are those who are interested in mining the gold that is there.
“In Nasarawa, what we do is that the moment we see the bandits coming in, we alert our people. These people are coming to your side and the information is there. The communities rise up to the occasion and also the communities fight them,” he said.
The governor also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring a no-fly zone in Zamfara as part of the measures to tackle the increasing insecurity in the state.
While noting that the declaring of the presidential order is long overdue, he said the government had to take time to carefully understand the Zamfara situation before coming up with decisive action.
“I think the government wanted to take a lot of time and understand what is going on there before they imposed a no-fly zone. I think the no-fly zone is even overdue, so imposing it today is fantastic, excellent.
“It will bring out more of those people who are hiding under whatever guise and taking care of this mining. It is a lot of illegal mining and not about the economy of the state,” he added.
To the Nasarawa Governor, the presidential ban on mining activities would effectively address the insecurity in the state, adding that the order wouldn’t affect the economy of Zamfara State.
On the granting of amnesty to bandits, the governor explained that he, alongside his other northern colleagues, would not give in to the dictates of those he described as militants.
Although he said that the recent release of the abducted Zamfara schoolgirls was made possible via negotiation, the governor explained that his administration would approach insecurity using both kinetic and non-kinetic strategy.
