The governor of Zamfara State, Mr Dauda Lawal has said that President Bola Tinubu was not getting the true security report on the operations of bandits in the state.
The governor stated this during an interview on Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.
He said he realised that the president was not getting the right briefing on the state of insecurity in the state when he had a conversation with him.
“Based on the conversation we had, I had to explain everything to him what we are going through and what needs to be done.
“Zamfara state has become the hub of banditry in northern Nigeria. If you can take care of Zamfara today, believe me, you’d have solved 90 percent of the banditry issue in northern Nigeria as a whole.
He said if there was the political will, banditry could be eliminated in a matter of weeks.
“While we are trying to take care of the situation, somebody, somewhere, somehow, behind our back, is negotiating with bandits… as a governor of a state, without my knowledge.
“When the situation really got bad, I had to meet Mr President and complain one-on-one, and I told him the true situation of what Zamfara is facing in terms of security.
“If we are committed, if we are serious, we can take care of this situation within two weeks maximum. But the political will is not there,” he added.
The governor regretted that as a governor, he does not have control over the military, police or personnel of the civil defence.
He said such a situation has rendered his government helpless in suppressing the operations of bandits in Zamfara.
“In most cases, you get frustrated in terms of where do you get help from.
“When you need these people, they would be nowhere to be found. And therefore the best thing to do is to set up that kind of security outfit.
“There are a lot of security undertones in the security issues. Some of you find it difficult to come and say but I know what we are going through. But like I said, sometimes you are helpless and when you need them they are not there or even when they are there, they are given certain instructions on what to do and not to do,” Dauda said.
