Governor Willie Obiano has commended intelligence and security agencies in Anambra State as well as certain state-owned organisations for providing impressive security in the state especially during the Christmas and New Year fiesta.
A statement signed by Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba said, Chief Obiano made the commendation today in a message to both officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Prison Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade, Anambra Vigilante Services as well as Anambra Traffic Management Agency (ATMA).
“We achieved an excellent result, though not 100%, in terms of security during the recent yuletide season because of the wonderful cooperation among the sister agencies,” the governor declared. He noted the kidnap of two Catholic priests in Umueri, Anambra East Local Government Area, on Christmas eve on their way to Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area but who were rescued by security agents 72 hours later without being hurt.
“The traditional rivalry among security and intelligence agencies in different parts of the world, including Nigeria, does not obtain here,” he stated.
“Rather, what we have in Anambra State is cooperation among them. There is even coordination among them.
“Anytime the Anambra State Traffic Management Agency reported traffic gridlock in any part of the state to the coordinating team, federal agencies like the police force and the DSS as well as the FRSC went to the place to assist in clearing traffic.
“Frankly, I think other parts of the country should come to Anambra State and see how not only key federal agencies work together but also how national and sub national organisations cooperate fully with one another for the benefit of the people.”
Governor Obiano attributed the deep level of cooperation among federal and state agencies in the state to his strategy to make Anambra “the first choice investment destination in Nigeria”, adding “I have consistently stated that investments go first and foremost to peaceful and stable places.
“Therefore, the unprecedented investment flow of over four billion dollars in just four years in Anambra State is not fortuitous or a mere happenstance but a part of a well-planned, deliberate strategy which took into consideration environmental factors affecting investment decisions everywhere in the world”.
Obiano noted that the good relations between the federal government, controlled by a party different from his All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the Anambra State government have contributed in no small measure to the “unrivalled social harmony in the state which has made Anambra one of the most competitive states in the country.
“Not only do we have excellent relations with all state governments in Nigeria, we also enjoy warm relations with all political parties and their members, including candidates in the 2019 general elections.
“We don’t discriminate in the state, as can be testified by the presence in our administration of members of the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress and a number of non-Anambra indigenes.
“We are proud that Anambra is today the most peaceful, the most cohesive and the most inclusive state throughout the country”.