The senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District of Edo State in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Joseph Ikpea, has commended Governor Monday Okpebholo for the proactive steps he took by closing down some secondary schools in the state following a red alert raised by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the plan by bandits to attack some schools in the state.
Senator Ikpea said that by closing some of the schools prone to the threat as warned by the DSS, Governor Okpebholo had shown uncommon leadership and full grasp of the elementary principle of governance which places a premium over the wellbeing of the people.
The senator, in a statement he endorsed in Benin, the Edo State capital, said that with the situation of security in the nation, it was just ideal that the governor did not treat the security red alert raised by the top security agency with kid gloves.
“I want to commend His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Executive Governor of our dear state, Edo State, for the prompt decision he took yesterday by closing down three different secondary schools in the Akoko Edo Area of the state following the security alert raised by the Department of State Services that some undesirable elements in our society were planning to attack some schools in Edo North Senatorial District with a view to kidnapping our children.
“The decision by Governor Okpebholo to act swiftly when he got the information goes to show his good and uncommon leadership and understanding of the principle of governance which stipulates that the government must seek the wellbeing of the people at all times.
“There is no doubt the decision to close the school at this period comes with its pain given that students across the nation are writing one national or sub-continental examination, it is just ideal that the governor closed the schools instead of waiting for the evil act to be perpetrated,” Ikpea stated.
He also called on Nigerians, particularly his Edo Central Senatorial District constituents to be vigilant and report any strange activity in their areas to security agencies and concerned authorities.
“It is pertinent at this juncture to call on Nigerians to be more vigilant. The issue of security, given the development in our dear nation today, has gone beyond it being the exclusive preserve of the government. All citizens must be involved and take the matter as part of their civic responsibilities to the Nigerian State.
“I want to appeal to the people of Edo Central not to consider the alert as raised by the Department of State Services as the problem of Edo North Senatorial District because the security advisory did not mention Edo Central.
“It is obvious that the undesirable elements responsible for this dastardly act of kidnapping don’t discriminate against tribe and region. Therefore, our people must be conscious of their environment, study all strange faces that come into their neighbourhood and take the bold step by reporting any strange activity around them to security agents and the authorities concerned. We should not wait till it happens before we act,” he counselled.
Ikpea, while praising the DSS and other security agencies in the state for their collaboration with the Governor Okpebholo-led administration for making Edo State safe, assured them that he would continue to support any initiative by the state government to rid the state of all undesirable elements.
In a leaked memo from the state command of DSS, addressed to the state Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the intelligence agency said it had uncovered a plan to abduct students in public schools in Edo North Senatorial District.
The document also claimed that a communication between two suspects where the plot was being planned was intercepted and that an individual had been arrested who was found in one of the public schools in the area apparently on a surveillance mission.