Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, said his administration distributed food items as palliative across the 13 local government areas and 18 development areas, in order to cushion the plight of the people and not for political gains.

Engineer Sule stated this while presiding over an expanded emergency security meeting, at the Government House, on Friday.

The Governor said it has become necessary to clarify the reason behind the distribution of food items including rice, indomie, spaghetti and Maggi, which was initiated solely to bring succour to the people who were facing difficulty accessing money from the banks.

According to Engineer Sule, the decision to provide succour to the people was informed by his recent visit to banks operating in the state capital, where he saw the level of suffering as customers were finding it difficult to access their money, with many lacking funds to buy food.

“I actually felt sorry for a lot of people who couldn’t even withdraw the least amount to be able to buy food items. We are not doing it for political reasons but to alleviate the plight of people who are facing hunger because of the shortage of money.

“We decided to buy the food on behalf of the state government and distribute it to everybody irrespective of their political parties and affiliations. And we did not brand the food items to indicate political leanings.

“We gave 1000 small bags of rice to every local government, 1000 to every development area. We did the same with indomie. We insisted that the food should go directly to the palaces of traditional rulers so that they will decide where to distribute across Mosques, Churches and other places.

We asked the LG chairmen to liaise with the traditional rulers to ensure the distribution was done irrespective of any political interest,” he stated.

The Governor used the opportunity of the meeting to update the state security council on security challenges confronting Nasarawa State and how security agencies operating in the state are tackling the issues as they arise.

Engineer Sule emphasized that, the expanded security meeting became necessary on order to ensure the sustainance of unity and peace in the state, especially with the commencement of the general election.

“I want to use the opportunity to express our appreciation especially to the security agencies, for what they have done so far ahead of the election, their preparedness, and all the efforts they put in together to get us here.

“I promised you the meeting will be brief, the whole intension is to hear from you, the level of preparedness from your own side and to hear also from our royal fathers and religious leaders and other stakeholders.

“If there are any concerns or any areas that we need to look at before the election tomorrow. Because at the end of the day, our peace in Nasarawa State is the most important thing to us, we must continue to maintain the unity that we have in the state and the peace that we have in the state,” he added.

He pointed out that, the prevailing naira scarcity occassioned by the implementation of the currency redesign and cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), poses a serious security threat.

“I think it’s very important I inform you because it’s also a security threat. The fact that the CBN has decided to change 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes which we believed was not implemented properly.

“Because two policies are being carried out at the same time. One, the change of money but the most difficult one is the introduction of this cashless policy, where there is limitation placed on how much money one can take out of the bank, mainly because of the fact that there was not enough of the new currency that was printed.

“There is reason to inform you why the state governors took CBN to the Supreme Court because we believe there was some kind of plan against the election. That is the main reason why we did that. Otherwise there was absolutely no reason to do it now. If we must do it now, there is no reason to limit how much somebody can withdraw from the bank just at the time of election.

“Because during elections, definitely there are instances for logistics and other support that you will need cash. To say that you will not get the cash, we felt there was some motives behind the move. That is why we went to court.

“Our going to court has yielded at least some kind of relief by ensuring they reintroduced the 200 naira note back,” he stated.

The Governor equally used the opportunity of the meeting to review recent security challenges in the state, decrying the influx of herders suspected to be bandits in Gurku and Kubaru both in Karu Local Government Area.

“There is influx of herders suspected to be bandits from Taraba State, sited around Gurku and Kubaru communities in Karu Local Government Area,” he added.

While appreciating the 177 Guards Battalion for moving to speed to put the matter under control, Engineer Sule said the Federal Government is keeping an eye also towards ensuring that the area remains peaceful.

Among the feats achieved through collaborative efforts with security operatives for which the Nasarawa State Government remains appreciative include the recent release of six school children abducted at a public school in Doma, the attack on three policemen in Nunku, in Akwanga Local Government Area and the dousing of a communal clash in Agwada Development Area.

“I want to commend you sincerely in that area. Also, the situation that we have at the moment, the convergence of some of the suspected bandits and terrorists at the adjoining forest between Doka, Kadarko in Keana and Doma Local Government Areas.

“I want to thank the military especially for what they have been able to do at Idadu. I stopped by to see some of the officers on patrol and after speaking with them, the following day they moved to Doka and taking care of a lot of things. From what we hear, from the Tiv community, they feel safe to start returning gradually back home,” he said.

The Governor condoled with the security agencies operating in the state, especially in the wake of the attack on members of a special security patrol in Nunku, Akwanga LGA.