From John Adams, Minna
The Niger State All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 general election, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has visited the victims of bandit attacks in Gulu and Azza Communities in Lapai Local Government Area of the state, where he donated food Items and cash worth millions of naira to the victims, with a promise to address the security challenges bedevilling the state, if elected in 2023.
The APC governorship candidate, who was accompanied by his running mate, Comrade Yakubu Garba, and some members of his campaign council to the two communities, to commiserate with the communities over last month’s massacre of some members of the communities by bandits, also donated a Sharon bus and N2 million to the local vigilantes in Azza community, to enhance their operations.
The APC candidate had earlier paid a similar visit to Vatsa community, after the bandits invaded the community, killed a number of people, and abducted some medical personnels and their relatives from the late General Mamman Jiya Vatsa General Hospital, Gulu. The attack led to the closure of the hospital by the state government, as all the medical personnels deserted the community after the attack.
The food Items donated to the people by the APC flag bearer includes 200 bags of rice, 200 bags of maize, oil, and N2 million naira cash to the relatives of those who were killed during the attack. Bago, however, promised that if voted into power in 2023, his administration will tackle the security challenges bedevilling the state, stressing that “security will be our priority because that is the foundation for every meaningful development.”
He described the continuous attacks on the armless communities by the bandits as heartless and wicked, adding that “we will give the issue of security a serious priority and ensure our farmers go about with their farming business without molestation.”
The spokesperson for the communities and a former commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa, thanked the gubernatorial candidate for coming to identify with the communities after what he described as “night of horror” in the communities when the gunmen in their numbers invaded the people and left scores dead and several others injured.
Vatsa expressed dismay that while the people are struggling to cope with decaying infrastructures in the area, the continued attack by those he described as enemies of the people, have further compounded their problems.
While pledging the communities’ total support for the APC candidate towards his ambition in 2023, Vatsa appealed to him to help the communities rehabilitate the major roads and bridges linking the communities, as well as schools in the area when elected as the next governor of the state.
