From Esther Akaa, Lafia
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has called on the Ebira and Bassa communities in Toto Local Government Area (LGA) of the state to put a stop to the lingering conflict between them and follow the path of peace.
Governor Sule made the call on Wednesday during the first town hall meeting organised by the state government as part of activities marking the second year anniversary of his administration, held at Senator Abdullahi Adamu Youth Centre, Toto LGA.
There has been a protracted conflict between the two communities which has led to the evacuation of the Bassa extraction from Toto LGA, following several killings and destruction of houses and farmlands in the area.
According to him, peace and security is paramount to human existence hence, the need for the people to live peacefully with one another, stressing that security of lives and property remains the topmost priority of his administrations.
He noted that his administration has continued to work tirelessly in addressing the security challenges confronting the area, noting that the Darus’salam group invaded the area and has made life unbearable for the people of Umuaisha/Toto/Gadabuke/Karmo areas.
“We came in and met a situation. The situation we met was about Darus’salam. The Darus’salam were sent away by Niger State Government in the year 2016/ 2017 They came and found Utu because the Bassa people who were living there are no longer there and they decided to occupy every hamlet where the Bassa people had left.
“They took over but the problem is that, they are not going to take over and stay quiet. Every time they are hungry, they come down from the hills and the forest to attack our people. It became extremely difficult for people to travel between Toto and Umaisha.
“They were also extending their feathers to Gadabuke and Karmo area. This we studied and took our document to Mr President and we are lucky we have a president with listening ears and he deployed a joint operation of the Mobile Police , Air Force , Navy and Army who came and attacked them at Utu,” Governor Sule said.
The governor, however, said security was the responsibility of all and urged them to provide useful information to the security agencies to assist in combating crime in the area.
Governor Sule said his administration was also committed to providing quality education, thus the allocation of 30% of the state budget to the education sector.
He thanked the people of Toto for supporting his administration, saying that the town hall meeting was to appreciate them for standing by him and to hear from them, especially as his administration clocks two years in office.
Stakeholders who spoke at the meeting, appealed to the federal government to deploy additional security personnel to the area to checkmate the activities of criminal elements and bandits who were constantly killing and abducting citizens of the state.
Speaking separately, Alhaji Usman Toto, Mallam Jibril Ibrahim and Hajia Mairo Usman all called for an improvement in the security situation of the area as well as the establishment of a tertiary institution to enable youths of the area gain quality education.
They equally called for elevation of the stool of Ohinoyi Ogye, from second class to first class status as well as the provision of potable water to the people of the area, among other demands.
Earlier, the Chairman of Toto LGA, Prince Nuhu Dauda, enumerated some of the projects executed by the present administration to include, the establishment of a permanent military super camp in Kenyehu, which led to the dislodgement of bandits operating in the area, establishment of divisional police headquarters in Umuaisha and squadron of the police mobile force, among others.
While appreciating the governor for his tireless effort towards addressing the security challenges of the area, Prince Nuhu however, called on the state government to provide water to the people of the area, as well as the need to rehabilitate the dilapidated roads among other challenges.
The Voice reports that the governor during the visit, commissioned the Flood Early Warning System Equipment and the Kofar Toto-Model Health Centre road in Umaisha Development Area of Toto LGA.