The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, has urged Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State to refrain from politicising the challenges of insecurity and instead focus on addressing the numerous problems bedevilling the state under his watch.

Responding to the allegation by the state government that his statement was capable of undermining the ongoing security efforts in the state, Barau stated that the country’s insecurity challenges, including the incursion of part of the state by marauding bandits, needed the collaboration and support of all stakeholders to address these challenges.

The Deputy President of the Senate, in a statement by his media aide, Ismail Mudashir, faulted the claims of the state government and challenged them to produce the clip in which he made a statement that tends to aggravate insecurity in the state.

“The attention of the media office of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I Jibrin, CFR, FCNA, has been drawn to false, reckless and malicious claims by the Kano State Government through the State Commissioner of Information, Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya that His Excellency, the Deputy President of the Senate, made a statement capable of undermining the security efforts in the state.

“It is unfortunate that the state government has relegated governance to this low by concocting and fabricating lies to tarnish the growing reputation of the Deputy President of the Senate. There was no time when Senator Barau uttered any statement capable of undermining security efforts; instead, he has been at the forefront, collaborating with all stakeholders to address the insecurity challenges in parts of Kano and other areas in the country.

“We challenge them to produce the clip in which the Deputy President of the Senate made any statement that could undermine security efforts,” he said.

The Deputy President of the Senate, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, urged the Kano State Governor to “wake up from slumber” and take charge of the affairs of the state to return Kano to the path of prosperity.

“Until governance was relegated to the background, our beloved state, Kano, used to be a very close second to Lagos in terms of prosperity, but unfortunately, misgovernance has eroded this. We have everything necessary to restore the glorious days of our state, but the governor is not taking steps in that direction,” he said.

Barau also listed some of the steps he took to improve security in the state.

“Senator Barau has provided operational vehicles to all police formations in his senatorial district and some parts of the state, and has also offered motorcycles to all policemen serving in Kano North Senatorial District.”

“Additionally, he renovated parts of the Kano State police headquarters and constructed police stations in different parts of the state. He had also rendered similar assistance to the Department of State Services (DSS) in the state.

“The Deputy President of the Senate has also facilitated the establishment of the training college of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Gwarzo, the Nigeria Police Service Commission training institute in Kabo, and the Nigeria Immigration Service training school in Bichi, which are all being constructed.

“He has also installed solar-powered streetlights throughout his senatorial district and other parts of the state to facilitate effective nighttime patrols. Senator Barau has made significant contributions to the enhancement of security in Kano State. The state government should emulate him and not cast aspersions on his personality,” the statement read. (Weekend Trust)