The Oyo State Government has entered into an agreement with the Nigeria Army to build a permanent garrison for peace and security to sustain the subsisting tempo of security in the state.
This is coming on the heels of commendations from across the country over the efforts of the Nigerian Army in quelling insurrections and other multiple armed local conflicts around the country.
The efforts has attracted widespread eulogies from many state Governors whose enclaves, which were previously hijacked by armed criminals, have been rescued by the Nigerian Army.
Governor Ajimobi made the disclosure, on Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, during the opening ceremony of the last quarter of the 2017 Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Conference with the theme; “Re-appraising the Nigerian Army’s Operational Efficiency in Containing Contemporary National Security Challenges.”
The event was graced by President Muhammedu Buhari, who was represented by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin as well as serving and retired military top brass among them, former COASs Lt. General Kenneth Minimah and Gen. O.A Ihejirika. Also, Major Gen. Ike Nwachukwu was in attendance among others.
Governor Ajimobi recounted painfully how a former President of Nigeria once described Ibadan as a political garrison command, which bred all manner of armed criminals who daily terrorized the state, noting, it almost tainted the good image of the state, as the intellectual epicenter of Nigeria, as host of Nigeria’s first premier university in history.
Ajimobi revealed that what saved the state from the inferno of the armed criminals was the initiative of his administration to partner with the Nigerian Army, which he said, has rewarded bountifully, as the old infamous tag of “garrison of armed criminals and rogues” has regained its status as a haven of peace and security.
The Governor said, he desires to sustain this partnership with the Army with the understanding to build a garrison of peace and security where developments in all sector would thrive unhindered and, in abundance to add value to the lives of citizens of the state.
