The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, on Wednesday visited the military troops involved in the Still Waters III exercise in Oro Ago town in Ifelodun local government where he commended the efforts of the 22 Brigade to improve security of lives and properties in the axis.
The Governor also visited the palace of the Oloro of Oro Ago Oba Johnson Olanrewaju Dada where he held a brief meeting with the monarch.
AbdulRazaq, meanwhile, has expressed satisfaction on the quality of job done on the Orisa bridge, which is now near completion.
He said the bridge would replace the colonial passage erected on the Omu Aran-Oro Ago road since the 1940s, thereby ending decades of anxieties on the fate of the people during raining season.
“I am truly impressed with the pace of the work. This is Orisa bridge and you can see the old one (colonial bridge). The team lead is Engr Daramola, a pioneer engineer in the State Ministry of Works. I am impressed. It is part of the infrastructural development of the state that we have embarked upon,” he told reporters on the embankment of the bridge.
“The old bridge was built in the 1940s. The new one is a great leap in our infrastructural development. We will continue to dig deep and do more.”
This comes two days after AbdulRazaq visited Igbaja and Ora communities to touch base with the people and to inspect ongoing projects.
The Governor, who noted the excellent synergy among all the security agencies, said the military presence in the axis and many other areas of the state has helped to consolidate security efforts as criminals now have no where to hide — an appraisal backed by the Oloro who said “we sleep with our eyes closed”.
“We paid visit to this camp to thank the Nigerian Army. You know internal security is not exactly their work. But they are doing a yeoman’s job to make the country and Kwara safe. We appreciate what they are doing here. We will continue to support their activities,” the Governor told reporters at the Step Up Headquarters of the 22 Armoured Brigade of the exercise Still Waters III.
“It is a camp outside Ilorin to make sure they have boots on the ground and make sure they secure the whole state by not sitting down in the state capital and wait for intelligence. They are out here to deter any criminals from having a base here.”
Brigade Commander, 22 Armoured Brigade Sobi Brigadier General AbdulRahman Babalola, who conducted the Governor round the base, commended the Governor for his support for the operation.
“I want to thank His Excellency the state governor for his support and proactiveness in everything that concerns security in Kwara State. We have received tremendous support from him,” he said.
“Since we deployed to this location, the security situation has improved tremendously. Like His Excellency said, we cannot just sit down in Ilorin while other areas have no security presence. We have deployed in Yikpata, Patigi, Kaiama, Kosubosu (and a few others) to ensure that the state of harmony remains harmonious.”
The Oloro, for his part, said the exercise has boosted peaceful living in the area.
“We thank God. Since the Military personnel have been here, we’ve been enjoying peace. We’ve been sleeping well. In fact those people coming to the market who used to be afraid of security situation are now telling themselves that Oro-ago is free and peaceful for business transactions. So we no longer have problem. And the Military operatives are really performing. They go up and down day and night,” the monarch said.
“We thank the Kwara State Government for assisting us in this area. We also thank the military officers for doing their job perfectly.”