Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has maintained that the state’s schools will remain open despite increasing bandit attacks across the state.
The Governor spoke when Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Isiaka Amoo, paid him a courtesy call on Wednesday, vowed his administration will not allow bandits dictate its educational policy or destroy the livelihood of children and their future.
‘’We will keep our schools open, we are confident that with the guidance that we have been getting, from the Garrison Commander, Base Commander, the AOC, GOC and the ability of the security agencies to respond in a timely manner, our schools will remain open,” he said.
The Kaduna governor noted that himself with senior government officials and heads of security agencies, civil society organisations, clerics and clergymen as well as other stakeholders met on Tuesday to deliberate on the dangers facing students
He explained that the preponderance of opinions at the meeting was schools should remain open but only the most vulnerable schools because ‘the security agencies, due to terrain and distance, cannot get there very quickly, will be closed.’
He said, “So far, all the attempts by bandits to carry out abductions have not been fully successful. This is largely due to the preparatory work done by the security agencies in advance. “We knew we would be targeted because of our stance. But the security agencies were ready for them.
‘’We appreciate the efforts and the timely response of the Armed Forces and we will continue to urge you to sustain the tempo.”
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