By Golok Nanmwa
JOS — The Plateau State Government has stepped up security measures around the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, following a series of attacks on the institution.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development, Ubandoma Laven Joshua, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Jos on Thursday.
Joshua said the measures included the installation of solar-powered lights and other security infrastructure aimed at preventing further attacks on the institution and protecting lives and property.
According to him, the government had provided adequate solar lighting around NIPSS, including the participants’ quarters, to eliminate dark spots that could be exploited by criminals to gain access to the facility at night.
He said the intervention followed Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s commitment to strengthen security around the institute and neighbouring communities after some security personnel attached to NIPSS were killed in previous attacks.
Joshua recalled that Mutfwang made the commitment during Vice President Kashim Shettima’s visit to the institute following the attacks.
He said: “We have made good the promise of the governor to secure NIPSS. We have provided adequate solar lights around the institution, including the participants’ quarters, to illuminate the environment and prevent night-time invasion.”
The commissioner added that the administration had deployed closed-circuit television, CCTV, cameras to some security flashpoints in Jos metropolis and installed additional solar-powered street lights around the city centre.
He said the measures had contributed to improving security in the state and restoring confidence among residents.
Joshua expressed confidence in the ability of the Mutfwang administration to sustain the security gains and secure a second term in office.
The commissioner also dismissed speculation that his recent redeployment from the Ministry of Works to the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development was punitive.
He described the redeployment as part of efforts by the administration to reposition the machinery of government ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We are not in competition in this government; we are working together as a team, and I can assure you that we are all winners.
“What I have done and left in the Works Ministry is plug and play, and my successor will come and continue from where I stopped,” he said.
Joshua further expressed confidence that the All Progressives Congress, APC, would win the 2027 elections in Plateau State, from the presidential election to the state House of Assembly polls.
He dismissed the opposition as no threat to Mutfwang’s second-term bid.
“The best hands are being recruited in every team that wants to win. So Plateau State is already focused, and we don’t need to be distracted.
“We need to be focused and ensure that Plateau State achieves this dream of this apostle of our time, who has transformed the state. I am part of the team that is cardinal to this transformation,” he said.
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