The Commander General of the Nigeria Hunter and Forest Security Service, NHFSS, Ambassador Dr Joshua Wole Osatimehin has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kasshim Shettima for their one year in office.
In a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on President Bola Tinubu One Year Anniversary, Ambassador Osatimehin said the renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu’s led administration has began to yield positive results in infrastructural development, security, immigration , aviation, health , education and national economic growth among others.
He stated that the reduction in the high rate of casualties due to violent incidents and nationwide decrease in the frequency of violent attacks particularly in previously volatile regions such as the North East, the Middle Belt and the South East has shifted national discourse away from security concerns towards economic and political development.
“A major factor contributing to this progress is the substantial increase in budget allocation for the Defence and Security sectors in the 2024 budget as President Bola Tinubu allocated 3.25 trillion naira to these areas reflecting his administration’s commitment to strengthening the country’s security apparatus”He said.
Ambassador Osatimehin explained that President Tinubu led administration has equally implemented several strategic reforms aimed at enhancing the operational effectiveness of security agencies which includes the overhauling of the internal security architecture and investing in modern equipment and training for security personnel.
“President Bola Tinubu led administrstion has equally fostered regional security cooperation particularly through the Nigeria’s leadership in the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, where it has played a pivotal role in mediating and resolving regional conflicts” the NHFSS CG emphasized.
According to him, President Tinubu’s position on the establishment of State Police and the directive given to State Governors on the setting up of Forest Rangers towards combating crimes and criminality in the forests are equally parts of his good decisions within the last one year in office.
He therefore restated the commitment of NHFSS towards complimenting the efforts of other formal security agencies in realizing the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s led administration in safeguarding lives and property of Nigerians most especially in forests across the country and used the opportunity to appeal to the President to give his approval to the NHFSS Bill before him towards enhancing the realization of his agenda on security.
On Infrastructural development, Ambassador Osatimehin described President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration of the newly reconstructed Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota-Oshodi expressway and the recently rehabilitated Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State and physically and virtually flag-off of the commencement of the 700-Kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which passes through nine sStates along the coastal shoreline, starting from Lagos and terminating in Cross River State as welcomed development and worthy of commendation for his one year in office.
In his words ” the virtually flag-off of the design and procurement for the 1000-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Highway, passing through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, and Oyo States as well as the design and procurement of the 461-kilometre Africa Trans-Sahara Route, starting from a point on the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Road, through Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa States, terminating at Apo in FCT, Abuja should equally be commended “.
According to him, the nationwide virtually flag off of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of emergency interventions on 330 roads and bridges across the six geo-political zones of the country showed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda for Nigerians in the area of roads Infrastructure.
Commenting on health, Ambassador Osatimehin stated that President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the establishment of the National Health Fellows Programme to engage young Nigerian fellows in all the 774 Local Government Areas nationwide is also worthy of commendation.
“The move is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s determination to comprehensively upgrade existing primary healthcare centres across all Local Government Areas in the country for accessible and qualitative healthcare delivery with the provision of new social accountability mechanisms ” He said.
Ambassador Osatimehin highlighted the financing of Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, Students Loans Scheme and other economic policies put in place by President Bola Tinubu’s led administration within one year in office as a welcomed development.
While soliciting the support of all Nigerians irrespective of tribes, religion and political differences in realizing the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the Commander General of NHFSS expressed the hope that with the collective support of all and sundry, Nigeria will soon take its rightful place among comity of nations.
He also called on politicians to shun politics of bitterness and be committed to realizing the dreams of the nation’s founding fathers.