By Olayemi Esan
The
Zamfara State Governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has revealed that his
administration has reached an agreement to purchase armed drones with
high altitude that will assist in detecting bandits’ hideouts and gather
intelligence that would lead to ending insurgency in the state.
The
Governor said he went out of the country with some officials for about
two weeks on an official trip to the United Kingdom and Turkey to find a
lasting solution to the problem of banditry in the state.
“The
trip was to seek assistance in the matters of security, job creation,
and invitation of foreign investors for socio-economic growth” he added.
“Zamfara
State has become the colony of banditry not only in the northern states
but in Nigeria as a whole and the state has suffered from the
destruction of socio-economic growth.
“Now, the state government
has it in mind to purchase armed drones to access bandit hideouts and
straighten intelligence gathering to battle the banditry and other
criminalities in the state”
The Governor stated that the state
government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a foreign firm
to establish mineral resources and gold refineries to address illegal
mining and create job opportunities for the citizens of the state.
He
pointed out that under his watch, gold refineries will be established
to increase state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), create job
opportunities and put illegal mining to rest which many feel is one of
the reasons banditry is ravaging the state.
The Governor promised
to boost the Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, saying the
state government has also secured wireless internet clouds for two
tertiary institutions in the state
“The wireless cloud project
provides a platform for supporting campus-wide access to internet
service for teaching, research and development, which will extend to
neighboring communities,” he said.