2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS: YOUTHS NEED JOBS, NOT GUNS- GOVERNOR AHMED

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed has urged politicians not to use youths as instruments of violence in the pursuit of their political ambitions. Governor Ahmed made the call at the maiden security summit organised by Ilorin Emirate Descendants Union (IEDPU) at the weekend, adding that youths needed jobs and not guns. According to him, “Our youths need jobs and a secured future. What they do not need and therefore do not deserve are guns and machetes whose only outcome is to blight their lives and abridge their future”. On how to ensure security of life and property, Governor Ahmed suggested that all security agencies must form a greater synergy by avoiding needless rivalry: “Only through working together we can surmount the hidden and obvious security threats confronting our country. To us the people, it does not matter who offers the best protection and security. What counts is that our lives are safe and our properties secured, he said. Ahmed charged Nigerians to also remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to security agencies through the appropriate channels that offer anonymity and safety. According to him, the most reliable and actionable intelligence comes from neighbourhood where crime is hatched and committed. The Governor stressed that policies and programmes of his administration are borne out of the realisation of the social, economic and security imperative of ensuring that youths are productively engaged to prevent youth restiveness. The National President of IEDPU, Alhaji AbdulHamid Adi, in his address, said the summit was designed to create a roadmap for checking crime and criminalities in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital due to the continuing growth of the city’s population.