By Special Correspondent

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has disclosed that the success behind the state’s enduring and sustainable peace and security was as a result of the deliberate zero tolerance policy of the administration against criminality, saying insecurity in any form was being systematically eradicated.

The governor stated this when he received the new General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Oluyemi Thomas Olatoye, who was on a familiarization visit to the Government House, Enugu, on Tuesday.

Governor Mbah attributed the success in combating crime to the state’s collaborative efforts with all the security agencies, including local and community policing, as well as the proactive commitment to ensure a safe, secure and peaceful environment for residents and businesses to thrive.

While underscoring the robust and productive relationship that had existed between the state government and the Nigerian Army, Mbah highlighted the government’s primary role of ensuring the security and well-being of the citizens which was pivotal to fostering growth and development in the state and the South East region.

“It is absolutely difficult for us to talk about development without security. We have a commitment to our people to grow our economy exponentially and also to eradicate poverty. We think that those will remain pipeline dreams if we do not have security, which was why very early in our administration, we identified the security challenges as the biggest elephant in the room. And we were in a hurry to escort that elephant out of the room and chase it out,” Mbah said.

The governor, who commended security agencies for their commitment and tireless efforts in making sure that insecurity of any kind was stamped out of the state, added that the state was experiencing growing numbers of investments across various sectors of the economy because of the huge investment the administration had committed in the security space.

“We have zero tolerance for criminality, which is responsible for the level of investment we have made in that sector. We have been able to deploy technology, and of course, we cannot use the technology to operate in isolation. We still need the foot on the ground to be able to work effectively. That is where we have seen this collaboration taking place,” he added.

Assuring the GOC of continuous support from the administration in areas of logistics and other operational mechanisms that will strengthen the capability of the military to effectively eliminate any vestige of insecurity in the state as well as the entire South East zone, Mbah stressed that security ranks as a top priority for the government.

He further reiterated the state’s avowal to continue to crack and flush out criminal gangs and their criminal activities to enable private investments and businesses to flourish and expand the economy to $30bn within the next six years.

Governor Mbah’s audacious statement anchors on the reports of improved security in the state, with several complex crime busts and arrests made in the past one and a half years which had sent criminals packing and fleeing the state to other areas.

Speaking earlier, Maj. Gen. Olatoye, extolled the governor for his resilience in tackling and flushing out threats, maintaining that he was aware of the ugly situation in the past and what the security situation is in recent times in the state.

Olatoye, who took over office as the 39th GOC in 82 Division, reaffirmed that his responsibility in the South East Region was to upscale the peaceful environment he met for socio-economic activities to thrive.

“All I know is that we can get it better. I have had interaction with the governor and he has told me some plans that he has as regards Enugu State.

“I want to state here before everyone that ours is to collaborate with you to take Enugu State to a greater height,” he further noted.

He called on all concerned stakeholders to collaborate with the security agencies, adding that his office was always open for assistance and collaboration.