The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says it is regrettable that adequate budgetary allocation for the security agencies in Nigeria has not been given top priority.
The governor made the observation when the Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, paid a courtesy visit to him at Government House, Port Harcourt, last Tuesday.
Wike said most budgetary allocations were made for things that do not matter because issues and importance of security has not been taken seriously.
“We budget for things that don’t matter. This is because we have not taken security issues seriously. Security is not only about purchasing equipment, there is training of personnel and good intelligence.”
He stressed that when government strengthens the intelligence capability of the police and other state apparatus, most crimes can be nipped in the bud.
Wike reiterated that his administration is poised to continue to support the Nigeria Police and other security agencies that have been working tirelessly to secure lives and property in the state.
He explained that the support given to slain officers of the Nigeria Army, police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in the state was to boost their morale in the fight against crime and criminality.
The governor said he has consistently advised every commissioner of police posted to the state to dedicate their time to fight crime, kidnapping, and dissociate themselves from politics.
Wike also noted that one of the reasons why politicians fail to perform in office and detach themselves from the people was because security agencies help rig them into power against the will of the people.
“It is incumbent on us to support the security agencies, because if we don’t support our security men, we can’t govern without security.”
Speaking further, Wike declared that Rivers State would not be part of any secessionist agenda and would not be deterred by nefarious activities of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to him, “IPOB can pursue their aspiration elsewhere but leave Rivers State out of their activities”.
The governor also charged the acting IGP to make a difference, sanitise the police, fight criminality and create the required climate for the conduct of 2023 general election.
In his remarks, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, said he was in the state for the launch of “Operation Restore Peace” in the South-South region of the country.
The IGP noted that lately, some groups, including the IPOB, had applied a rather brutish method in their agitations, and killed security personnel, which would not be tolerated anymore.
Baba thanked Wike for the financial donation to the families of slain police officers in the state and other levels of support that have strengthened the capacity of the state command of police to do its job.
The acting IGP, who was accompanied by the commissioners of police from Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Edo states, said if other state governors emulate Wike in providing logistic support for the police, the country would benefit immensely from better policing.