Borno Speaker commends Nigerian Army for restoring peace to state

The Speaker, Borno House of Assembly, Alhaji Abdulkareem Lawan, has commended the Nigerian Army for the successes so far recorded in the war against Boko Haram and restoration of peace to the North-East.

Lawan, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) in Guzamala on Sunday, also thanked the military for celebrating the 2018 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) in the town.

NAN reports that the Nigerian Army had initiated ‘Operation Last Hold’ designed to clear remnant of Boko Haram insurgents in order to facilitate return of displaced persons to their homes in the Northeast.

Gudunbali, headquarters of Guzamala Local Government Council of the state is one of the liberated towns from the insurgents designated for resettlement.

Lawan said that the feat achieved by the military in the counter-insurgency campaign had re-awakened the hope of the people in the region.

The speaker, who was among hundreds of returnees to the area, noted that the feat achieved would promote agriculture as well as social and economic activities.

He assured of government’s readiness to support the returnees to resettle in their ancestral homes.

Lawan also called on the people to support the military and other security agencies to end insurgency as well as the peace building process.

Aisha Garba, one of the returnees commended the gesture, adding that she was happy to return home.

Garba, a mother of three, said that she returned to the area with her husband and had begun clearing of their farmland.

Another returnee, Hauwa Bukar, called on government and humanitarian organisations to provide them with shelter, food, and schools in the area.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, had earlier conducted environmental sanitation at Gudunbali.

Buratai said the exercise was part of activities lined up to commemorate (NADCEL) designed to clear waste and enhance sanitation in the town.

He reiterated the commitment of the military to end insurgency and other security challenges in the country.