Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, says the spate of insecurity in the state would not stop the effort of to sustain the tempo of development strides by his administration.
He said the investment drive as recorded in the Q1 2020 investment report on the state by the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) would be sustained in order to attract more investors and investment opportunities to the state.
Governor Sule made this known while playing host to traditional rulers from across the state who were at the Government House on a Sallah homage in Lafia.
Sule condoled the Emirs over the recent killing of Amos Ewa Obere, the Chief of Odu, by unknown gunmen, and pledged to intensify effort to protect lives and property of the people.
He therefore reiterated the main focus of his administration is to attract opportunities to the state, and would not be distracted or deterred by the rising profile of security challenges in the state.
According to him, the state is beginning to enjoy goodwill from across the country as exemplified by the recent listings of Nasarawa State as being among the top four states in the federation to attract investments, as well as one of the 22 states known for their transparency and accountability, with a special package earmarked for the state.
“With all these goodwill coming to us, we cannot allow our state to be distracted, not by any kinds of rumours, insecurity or any individuals no matter how highly placed they are.
“We won’t be distracted, we will remain focused, otherwise we will not achieve our development agenda,” the Governor said.
He added, “irrespective of the prevailing security challenges, we will continue to put the state on the path of development”, and thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and heads of security agencies for always responding the security needs of the state.
Earlier, the Emir of Lafia and Chairman, Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd) encouraged the Governor not to be distracted by the security challenge, and lamented the murder of the traditional ruler.
“There is no doubt that, there is a lot of distractions. Some people who decided to remain on the side of evil, continue to constitute distractions to the good work that you are doing to the people of the state.
“On behalf of all of us seated here, we want to let you know, that no matter how much they think they will constitute an obstacle, they will not distract you,” Bage stated.
He then blamed people outside the state for instigating the violence supported by some unpatriotic indigenes of the state to discredit the administration of Governor Sule and assured him of their support to enable the state government succeed in addressing challenges confronting the state.
