Some of the Northern Governors in Nigeria under the agesis of the Northern Governors Forum have openly called for some sustained fervent prayers against banditry and kidnapping which has been plaguing Nigeria.
Niger Governor, Abubakar Bello who had also spoken on their behalf on Saturday at a symposium had harped on the role of Imams in ensuring credible and peaceful elections.
Read Also: Insecurity: Boko Haram Are ‘Fraudulent People’ – Buhari
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Matane, Bello said security agencies alone cannot do it
The governor stated that prayers by religious leaders would help to address the ugly trend.
All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Niger, Umar Bago had also corroborated Bello’s position on prayers as well.
Bago said the roles played by religious and traditional rulers in peaceful co-existence were enormous, and they should be supported to achieve maximum results.
In another report, the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has described terrorists of the Boko Haram sect as ‘fraudulent people’ who have been overwhelmed and pushed out of prominence ever since 2015.
Buhari made this known on Tuesday in Owerri, the Imo State capital when he was hosted by Governor Hope Uzodinma after he commissioned some projects by the latter’s government.
The President heaped the blames the elite for not thinking hard about Nigeria, adding that though his government has done “extremely well” those who are supposed to commend his administration for his achievements have refused to speak.
He also said despite earning so much from crude oil, his predecessors failed to develop the country’s infrastructure.
‘To be frank with you, I blame the Nigerian elite for not thinking hard about our country,’ the President commented.
‘Between 1999 and 2015 when we came in, I will like people to check the Central Bank and the NNPC, the average production was 2.1million bpd. Nigeria was earning at this time 2.1million times but look at the state of infrastructure, look at the road…look at the railway, it was virtually killed. Power, we are still struggling.
‘But when we came, unfortunately, the militants were unleashed, production went down to half a million bpd. Again, unfortunately, the cost of petroleum went down from $28 to $37.’
He further said before he came into office in May 2015, Boko Haram terrorists controlled local governments in Borno State but that has become a thing of the past.