Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara State has revealed that his administration has reached an agreement to purchase armed drones with high altitude that will assist in detecting bandits’ hideouts and gather intelligence that would lead to ending insurgency in the state.
The Governor said he went out of the country with some officials for about two weeks on an official trip to the United Kingdom and Turkey to find a lasting solution to the problem of banditry in the state.
“The trip was to seek assistance in the matters of security, job creation, and invitation of foreign investors for socio-economic growth” he added.
“Zamfara State has become the colony of banditry not only in the northern states but in Nigeria as a whole and the state has suffered from the destruction of socio-economic growth.
“Now, the state government has it in mind to purchase armed drones to access bandit hideouts and straighten intelligence gathering to battle the banditry and other criminalities in the state”
The Governor stated that the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a foreign firm to establish mineral resources and gold refineries to address illegal mining and create job opportunities for the citizens of the state.
He pointed out that under his watch, gold refineries will be established to increase state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), create job opportunities and put illegal mining to rest which many feel is one of the reasons banditry is ravaging the state.
The Governor promised to boost the Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, saying the state government has also secured wireless internet clouds for two tertiary institutions in the state
“The wireless cloud project provides a platform for supporting campus-wide access to internet service for teaching, research and development, which will extend to neighboring communities,” he said.
