SENATE MOVES TO BOOST SECURITY IN BORDER COMMUNITIES.

The Senate has said it will work assiduously to ensure that insecurity around Nigeria’s border communities is addressed head-on.

Chairman, Senate Committee on States and Local Governments Administration, Senator Binos Dauda Yaroe, speaking on Monday in Abuja at the beginning of a two-day engagement with stakeholders in collaboration with Global Consult Limited, stressed that cross-border crimes have impeded development over the years.

He added that the committee will work with relevant stakeholders with the view to integrate sub-national border communities into the economic management of Nigeria.

According to him, the rate of crimes witnessed at the border communities can also be traced to long years of neglect and lack of basic amenities for Nigerian border communities, adding that the committee intends to make the engagement an annual event.

The lawmaker urged the local governments to use the opportunity of the Local government autonomy to create positive impacts on the people living within the border communities for their well-being and development.

“We are concerned about the development of our border communities, the security of the people living there as well as programs that will give everyone a sense of belonging,” he said.

He expressed concerns that most of the border communities are yet to be restricted and properly defined, adding that some of the conflicts result from no clear-cut defined borders.

In their remarks, the deputy governors of Abia, Gombe, and Ekiti states all expressed enthusiasm that finally the Nigerian Senate is considering putting forward the right foot towards addressing the challenges that Nigerians living in the border areas face daily.