Arguments that State Police will be misused by Governors is lazy — Governor Mutfwang

Governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, in this interview, declares that the creation of state police has become imperative, adding that arguments that it could be misused by some governors is a lazy argument. He also speaks on security in Plateau, the health of the economy, and other issues. ISAAC SHOBAYO presents the excerpts:

SECURITY challenges have been a major issue for your administration. What are you doing to arrest this situation?

When we took over on May 29, 2023, we were not oblivious of the challenges we were going to confront. The first was security. Those who followed us would remember that we convened a Security Council meeting just two days after we were sworn in. To our surprise, we discovered none had been held for close to a year.

We immediately swung into action, trying to appraise the security situation and remotivate the security agencies. It is unfortunate that the security challenge has not abated as much as we had hoped, but one thing we have done—and I need you to know—is that if we hadn’t done as much as we did, with the intelligence at our disposal, Plateau State would be in a worse situation.

There are many details we cannot unveil, but I’m glad to tell you that, among the states in North Central Nigeria, Plateau is relatively safer than others. At the moment, there is no local government in Plateau State that is completely a no-go area. There are local governments in parts of the North that you cannot enter because they have been taken over by bandits.

To the glory of God, we don’t have such a scenario here. What we have are opportunistic attacks; they strike, then disappear. We do not have resident bandit camps on the Plateau, except for the situation that arose in Wase and Kanam, where we actually had decades-old challenges. Some of you will recall that the Emir of Wase, even before we came in, cried out that half of his domain was under bandits’ occupation.

I am glad to tell you we’ve been able to push back and substantially regain ground in Wase. That’s why today the grazing reserve in Wase remains our only hope. We also brought Operation Rainbow back to the frontline of security operations. Some people have complained about its operations, but I believe that if Operation Rainbow wasn’t functioning, there would be no reason to complain about it.

It has been a good complement to other security agencies on the ground, and going forward, we can only strengthen it, not remove it. We brought hope to our people. We gave hope that they could expect something tangible from government—that governance is not an avenue for wishful thinking or deceit, but truly for the benefit of the people.

Sir, Executive Order 003 which banned street trading and commercial motorcycles from operating in parts of the Jos metropolis is currently being violated. What is the state government doing to reinforce this?

Enforcement in Nigeria is a tough issue. You must carry the security agencies along, and sometimes, if you understand what I mean. But we’ll review this and sustain momentum.

For illegal street trading, we tried to demolish the remains of the old market because it’s a threat to life. When we went, some people went and did “Amebo,” and frustrated the exercise. Each time you see something wrong, there are people benefiting from it, and they will resist change. But we’ll keep working on it.

Sir, there is a regional collaboration among Nigerian governors; however, governors of the North Central rarely meet to discuss issues affecting the geopolitical concerns, particularly security and other crucial matters. What is responsible for this?

It has historical constraints, but we have a North Central Governors’ Forum. We’ve met a couple of times, but we still need to up the ante. In fact, just recently, I had a conversation with one of my colleagues, and we’ll soon have a security-focused meeting. The operational area of the GOC covers a lot of the North Central, so it’s a work in progress.

You recently visited Riyom following the attack that claimed lives, and you directed that the innocent youths arrested be released; yet they are still being kept. What is the state government doing in this regard?

This again demonstrates the problem with the governor’s position as Chief Security Officer; it is merely a title. I gave a directive, but the GOC or Police Commissioner won’t act without Abuja’s permission. That’s why I advocate State Police. The argument that it will be misused is lazy; it’s made by those benefiting from the inefficiencies of the current system. I don’t see the country overcoming most of its internal security challenges without state police in place. The earlier, the better we embrace the State Police, if we really want to get out of the woods. We keep engaging the military; now it’s not a directive but a request. We’ll keep negotiating until our request becomes reality.

Recently, a group in a video claimed responsibility for the Riyom attack. What steps are being taken to hold the individuals who made the open confession accountable?

 Those statements are admissions of knowledge and guilt. People can’t just say what happened in Riyom is because of XYZ; that means they know. I keep asking: If you say it’s reprisal, who was attacked first? Who brought the people for reprisal? Did the Holy Spirit tell them? Security agencies must fish them out, and we must keep pressing.

What new strategies are you bringing on board to confront the unabated security challenges?

We have continued to redouble our efforts, rejig our efforts, and recalibrate our efforts to make sure that we stem this tide, and I’m sure that with the efforts we are putting in place, we’re going to see significant improvements not too long from now.

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE: Only 38.32% of candidates pass English, Maths as WAEC releases 2025 WASSCE results

More than the issues of security, which have beclouded the progress we have made, is that what we promised the people of Plateau State is leadership. We promised that we’re going to lead; we are not going to be political.

As a matter of fact, I used to tell people that I’m not a politician. I’m in politics, but I’m not a politician. I’m in politics because that is the only platform by which you can come into governance in our country, and my attitude is not just to be in office for the sake of it, but to be able to provide leadership that will take Plateau State to the level where we all dream it to be. A state that is economically buoyant, it’s economically self-sufficient, and it’s a state that can compete with other states in Nigeria, even beyond the shores of this country.

So, Sir, how are you driving towards achieving that Plateau of your dream?

Going with the leadership that we promised, we have brought hope to our people. We brought hope that they can expect something tangible, that government and governance are not avenues for wishful thinking or deceit, and that governance is for the benefit of the people, and I think that if you ask me what our achievements are, one that I can readily point out is that we have brought hope back to the people of Plateau State.

I know that we haven’t fulfilled all their expectations, but the people of Plateau State can at least hope that things will get better tomorrow. That for me is very important, and so this has been the focus of our administration: that in every critical sector of our lives, in education, healthcare, sports, economy, agriculture, and the mining sector—in fact, all the sectors of our lives—we are able to let people know that things can be better, and that is why the way we have approached our output in governance is to see how we can turn around every sector for the betterment of our people.

Over the last two years, by the grace of God, we’ve done as much as we could have done within the constraints of resources at our disposal.

Can you therefore point to any developmental achievements in view of these security challenges?

If you ask me what our achievements are, one I can readily point to is that we have brought hope back to Plateau State. The people may feel their expectations, but at least they can hope things will get better. That, to me, is very important. This has been the focus of our administration: in every critical sector—education, healthcare, sports, the economy, agriculture, and mining—we have let people know that things can be better.

Mining is another critical driver but also a big challenge. That’s why I signed an executive order suspending mining activities. It was misunderstood not to deprive people but to reorganize the sector. Too much is taken from the ground unreported. With proper reporting, Plateau could compete with the Niger Delta in revenue. Also, part of the insecurity we face is driven by these minerals—attacks are often aimed at displacing communities so criminals can access deposits. We won’t allow that. We also improved the Plateau Health Insurance Scheme, raising enrollment from 93,000 to over 200,000. We revived the Plateau State Drugs and Medical Commodities Management Agency.

Months ago, Plateau signed into law the Electricity Act and the Marketing Bill. How far has the state gone in involving the private sector to drive this?

Tremendous progress. Just a month ago, we inaugurated the boards of both the Electricity Commission, which is the regulator, and the Electricity Corporation, which is the business arm. They’ve taken off and are settling down. In the last year, we’ve had major engagements with the private sector, especially on solar energy. Interest has been high—REA has about 45 sites ready for commissioning. We’re also looking at hydropower. NESCO’s board has been reorganized; the PIPC MD is now chairman. We want to bring NESCO back to life—it involves investments and security issues. Another game-changer is the TCN transmission line project. The contract issues are sorted, and soon the contractor will return to the site. That will connect the state—central and southern zones with 132 kV lines, a huge boost.