Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has called on the Nigeria Police Force to deploy additional personnel to the state to further enhance security and address criminal activities, particularly at the border towns.
Oyebanji urged the police force to intensify efforts to enhance security as the state would soon enter the election season.
The governor made the call in Ado Ekiti on Thursday when he received the new Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Zone 17, comprising Ondo and Ekiti States, Musibau Omolabi.
Oyebanji, who said that Ekiti remained one of the safest states in the country, said that inadequate security coverage in the rural areas of the state had left residents vulnerable to criminal activities, which undermined public safety.
The governor, who said the activities of police force had helped reduce the spate of criminality in the state and as well created a conducive environment for investors, pledged the administration’s readiness to continue to support the force to ensure adequate security of lives and property across the state.
He told the AIG, ‘You said you are here to work; we are also ready to work with you.
We will continue to partner and support the police force because the personnel have added value to us, we are lucky in the state that the rate of kidnapping, banditry and criminality has gone down tremendously and that speaks to the hard work and the cooperation we enjoy together, and I must thank the Commissioner of Police for that.
‘I will just plead with the AIG to also help us, I know that the police force is stretched in respect to manpower, but I have to say this since you are here, we are underserved, a lot of communities have no police formation and I have discussed with the Inspector General of Police himself and he told me the problem, but even if you cannot add to our numbers, do not deplete us’, the governor said.
Speaking earlier, The AIG expressed gratitude to the governor for his consistent support for the police force, which had significantly improved the effectiveness of security operations in the state.
Omolabi lauded Oyebanji for creating an enabling environment that had facilitated the smooth functioning of the police in the state.
The AIG assured the governor of his commitment to working tirelessly to sustain the peace and security, emphasising that it had ensured the safety of residents and that maintaining public order would remain a top priority under his leadership.
Also at the meeting were, the Chief of Staff, Mr Oyeniyi Adebayo; the Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brig. Gen. Ebenezer Ogundana (retd); the Special Adviser, Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode; and the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Joseph Eribo among others.
