Zulum risks his life for Nigerian military – Defence Minister

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, his said to be giving incredible support to the Nigerian military and in many instances he risks his life visiting front lines to motivate troops, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has said.

The minister spoke at the council chamber of the Government House in Maiduguri recently.

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“My brother (addressing Governor Zulum), the troops here in Borno and indeed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) asked me to send their appreciation to you for all the support that you have been rendering to the military. You have been supporting us in all our operations, thank you most sincerely. Sometimes, you even risk your life supporting and encouraging our personnel, we appreciate you,” Badaru said.

The minister said that their visit was at the instance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assess the security situation in the theatre of operations in Borno State in order to see the end of the over one decade of insurgency.

The minister spoke in the presence of his colleague, the minister of state for Defence, Bello Mohammed Mutawalle, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, all of whom were on the trip to Borno State.

I will sustain support, Governor assures

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum in response to the minister and his delegation, reiterated his commitment to his continued support for the Nigerian military in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency across the northeast.

“As Governor of Borno State, In Sha Allah, I will continue to support the Nigerian military with a view to achieving our objective of bringing lasting peace and stability to Borno and by extension, Nigeria. I will continue to provide the political will needed to achieve this objective,” Zulum said.

The governor noted that the security situation in Borno has tremendously improved.

Zulum however, charged the military to root out the remnants of the insurgents from Sambisa forest, Mandara Mountains and the enclaves in the Lake Chad Basin in order to completely end the insecurity.

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The governor added that stability in the Lake Chad Basin would allow governments at all levels to harness the agricultural potential of the Lake towards achieving President Tinubu’s food security initiative.

Zulum expressed his gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the leadership he has been providing to address the problem of insurgency in Borno and other security challenges across the country.