The Zamfara State Executive Council has approved the recruitment of 4,200 members for the civilian Joint Task Force to complement the efforts of security agencies in tackling insecurity in the state.

The recruitment ofthe civilian JTF was among the critical issues deliberated upon at the State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Dauda Lawal on Tuesday, according to a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris.

The statement noted that the meeting also approved the construction of new classrooms, renovation and furnishing of the schools as part of the government’s commitment to increasing educational opportunities.

It was earlier reported that Governor Lawal had insisted he would not negotiate with bandits but support security agencies to stamp out banditry and other forms of criminality in the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mannir Mu’azu Haidara, on Saturday, said the governor had begun implementing a road map that would see the state emerge from years of banditry.

He also noted that the governor would place priority on rebuilding communities shattered by years of insecurity and engage in projects of urban and rural development that would fast-track recovery.

The statementby the governor’s spokesperson on the recruitment of civilian JTF reads, “In his commitment to curb the lingering insecurity, Governor Dauda Lawal approved the recruitment of civilian JTF in all the Local Government Areas of the state. (The PUNCH)