GOVERNMENT OF NASARAWA STATE

SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, ENGR. ABDULLAHI A. SULE, EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA STATE ON THE OCCASION OF A ONE-DAY STAKEHOLDERS DIALOGUE ON THE DEMANDS PRESENTED BY ENDSARS, LAFIA: FRIDAY, 23RD OCTOBER, 2020


1. His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State;

2. The Right Hon. Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly;

3. The Hon. Chief Judge of Nasarawa State;

4. Distinguished Senators and Members of the House of Representatives present;

5. The Hon. Minister of State for Science and Technology;

6. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, Nigeria Police Force;

7. Principal Officers and Members of the State House of Assembly;

8. Your Excellencies, former Governors;

9. Your Excellencies, former Deputy Governors;

10. The Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State;

11. The Head of the Civil Service;

12. Special Advisers;

13. The State Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC);

14. Former Ministers and Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

15. Former Senators and Members of the House of Representatives;

16. Permanent Secretaries Federal and State present;

17. His Royal Highness, Hon. Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad II JSC (Rtd) Emir of Lafia and Chairman, Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs;

18. Chairmen and Chief Executives of Commissions, Boards and Parastatals Federal and State present;

19. Executive Chairmen of Local Government Councils and Overseers of Development Areas present;

20. Other Security Agencies here present;

21. Your Royal Highnesses, Emirs and Chiefs;

22. Other Distinguished Stakeholders;

23. Gentlemen of the Press;

24. Ladies and Gentlemen.


It is with a sense of responsibility that I address you today on A One-Day Stakeholders Dialogue on the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force.

2. Let me specially welcome our distinguished Senators and other Members of the National Assembly to this all-important event. Similarly, I welcome the Honourable Minister of State for Science and Technology, Barr. Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi to this Forum. I acknowledge the presence of other critical stakeholders, who within short notice, honoured our invitation to grace this event.

3. As you are already aware, Nigeria is faced with security challenges occasioned by the activities of the ENDSARS protesters against the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force. The activities of the ENDSARS have continued to pose security threats with attendant consequences on human lives and property, as well as the socio-economic development of the State and the country at large.
4. This is coming at a time when His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is committed to record unprecedented progress and development in all facets of human endeavours.

5. I need to inform you that the ENDSARS protesters have raised a 5-Points Demand which include:
i. Immediate release of all arrested protesters;

ii. Justice for all deceased victims of Police brutality and appropriate compensation;

iii. Setting-up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all records of Police misconduct (within 10 days);

iv. In line with the new Police Act psychological evaluation and retraining (to be confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed; and

v. Increase Police salary so that they are adequately compensated for protecting lives and property of citizens.



6. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to appraise the present security challenge with a view to finding a lasting and sustainable peace, as well as fashion out modalities towards addressing the 5-Points Demand raised by the ENDSARS protesters. In an attempt to address the demands of the protesters, Government had in compliance with the Presidential directive, constituted Judicial Commission of Enquiry with a clear mandate as reflected in their terms of reference. This gathering will further give us an opportunity to carefully look into the plights of the protesters as it relates to our State. I, therefore, call on you all to be objective in your contributions, in our collective determination to not only address the 5-Points Demand of the ENDSARS but also to create the needed serene environment for socio-economic development of our dear State and the country at large.

7. It is pertinent to note that, the Federal Government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has implemented different programmes targeted mostly on youths and women, as well as the most vulnerable groups in the society. This is in an effort to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten (10) years.

8. On our part as a State, this Administration made deliberate efforts towards the empowerment of our youths and women in line with our policies and programmes geared towards wealth creation, employment generation and poverty alleviation. Government has completed the Lafia Institute of Technical Education, aimed at imparting necessary vocational skills to our youth and women, including those who could not have the privilege of formal or pursuing higher education.

9. In addition, this Administration has attracted investors, like the Dangote Group of Company, Azman Rice Ltd, Flour Mills, Olam Farms, among others into the State. These companies will serve as employment hubs for our teeming youth in the State. We also sustained the Nasarawa Youth Empowerment Scheme in an effort to reduce redundancy among our youths. Government is, however, determined to provide all the necessary support to make our youth productive and fully prepared to take over the governance of this great nation.

10. Let me take the liberty of this occasion to inform you that, just yesterday I had the opportunity of attending the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) in Kaduna, where the Forum deliberated extensively on the activities of the ENDSARS protesters which have turned violent resulting in the destruction of our national assets and destruction of property, as well as other cherished institutions. I need to also point out that one of the resolutions of the Northern State Governors’ Forum is to carry out strategic engagements with stakeholders, hence the imperative of convening this meeting. I shall give you further briefing when the meeting dissolve into Executive Session.

11. At this juncture, I wish to commend His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his commitment in the provision of security. Similarly, I salute our security agencies in spite of the growing animosity, they have remained resilient and focused in the fight against crimes and criminalities in the State. I urge you to sustain this tempo for the good of all. I wish to also assure you of our necessary support and enablement in the discharge of your responsibilities.

12. Before concluding this address, let me once again appreciate the efforts of our traditional and religious leaders for supporting our commitment in calming this situation. Similarly, I appreciate youth leaders for their various roles in ensuring that the youth did not take the Law into their hands. I urge you to continue to support our efforts in this direction for the benefit of our society.

13. To this end, let me state that peace, security and harmonious co-existence is a collective responsibility of all. We must endeavour to come together in unison to fight crimes and criminality in our society for the collective good of all. We, all, must encourage and support the efforts of our Security Agencies towards securing our environment for socio-economic activities to thrive.

14. On this note, it is my pleasure to declare the One-Day Stakeholders Dialogue, open. I wish us all a hitch free deliberations.

15. Thank you and may God bless us all.

Not too bad.

can these idiots ever agree to practice decentralize system of government?

no wonder a governor who is yet to finish his four years as governor is already plotting to be president, I forget Presidency courtesy to Adeshini and his crew of clowns.