The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has tasked the newly-appointed Commandant General, CG, of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Audi to reposition the Corps to become a more profound player in the security architecture of the country, and in securing Nigerians and their property.
The Minister gave the order earlier today during a working visit to the National headquarters of NSCDC, Abuja.
TheFact Nigeria reports that Aregbesola, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, while bemoaning the state of insecurity in the country, which has been a challenge to the nation, urged the Commandant General to take up the responsibility of returning “Nigeria back to the old days when people can travel freely on our roads without fear of being waylaid, kidnapped or assassinated.
The Minister expressed confidence in Dr Audi’s capacity to deliver on improving the security landscape of Nigeria, into which a lot of work and investments had gone, noting that his emergence as the CG was after a keen and extensive contest and based purely “on merit and not by accident or favoritism.”
Aregbesola further told the NSCDC boss that it was not beyond the Corps to restore the country to a safe haven that it always had been, adding that, “there is a reason for your appointment by Mr President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and it is required that you return our country to safety and bring it to peaceful times.”
He said further that “there is need to protect, defend and sustain our nation” by maintaining internal peace and security, considering Nigeria’s having “so much attractiveness in terms of the terrain, the geography, the people, the agricultural layout, the market and the infrastructure”.
Aregbesola also charged all officers and men to give unalloyed support to the CG “who has a fantastic vision which he enumerated on the day he was sworn in; he has grand plans which should be adopted by everybody and all should make sure that this plans are achieved”, the minister said.
Furthermore, the minister, while enumerating the numerous tasks before the CG and charging the Corps helmsman to ensure that he delivers on his mandates and achieves the objective all Nigerians expect and desire, gave assurances of his Ministry’s support and that of Mr President to provide him the needed assistance to succeed in carrying out appropriate policies and programmes that would bring the Corps up to speed with its counterparts across the globe.
“We are very comfortable with the programme and pathway the CG has brought forward towards achieving these goals, which include administrative reforms, tactical and training programmes as well as disciplinary enforcement and adjustment. There is really no alternative administratively, operationally and discipline wise, there is a lot of work to be done”, Aregbesola stated.
The Commandant General, in his response, appreciated the Minister and the Permanent Secretary for their support since his assumption of office and assured them if his determination to work assiduously to provide the needed security for Critical National Asset and Infrastructure, the farming communities as well as our school children all over the country.
Audi further reiterated that the Corps would be reinvigorated and nurtured into a formidable force under his leadership to continue to provide services that will justify the confidence reposed in her by all Nigerians and to even surpass the benchmark set for him by Mr President and the Minister of Interior, stressing that he is poised and determined to serve Nigeria passionately and without looking back.
