Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has attributed peace being enjoined in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the state to the establishment of Forward Operation Base (FOB) and dedication and commitment of officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
The governor said this Tuesday when he played host to Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai at the Government House, Kaduna.
“Since the establishment of the FOB, that part of the state has been quite peaceful,” he said.
El-Rufai urged the army to establish a command secondary school in the area, saying the area had produced three service chiefs and hosted several military units.
“We are ready to give you one of our schools to start with. We will soon write the army in this regard and we hope it will receive speedy consideration.”
The governor also said the state would provide the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force 500 hectares of land at one of the newly expanded areas in the state to be allocated to their personnel.
“The army should also consider Kaduna in building its post service housing scheme,” he pleaded.
“We believe that the more presence of retired military personnel we have, the more security we will have in the state.”
El-Rufai also appealed to the army chief to turn forests in the state to training ground and shooting range to prevent criminals hibernating in the areas.
He said the state was improving on its infrastructure to attract people and industries to the state.
“We are also going to improve on our power supply. This will help army vehicle manufacturing industry and Dangote/Peugeot Automobile plant that will soon be established in the state,” he said.
El-rufai commended the Nigerian Army for the rehabilitation of collapsed bridge along Birnin Gwari, the free medical outreach and other civil-military activities in the state.
