Sunday Trust also discovered that soldiers have been withdrawn from the convoy of the governor even as observers of happenings in the state believe that politics is at play amidst an increasingly complicated security dilemma.
For now, only policemen and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) are visible at all the gates of the Government House.
An army source confirmed the withdrawal of troops from the Government House, saying: “As you know, the army is over-stressed. We cannot afford the luxury of assigning them to provide security to any governor. There is no governor in Nigeria with soldiers in their convoy. It’s usually the police and the State Security Service (SSS) operatives. The governor knows this too well.”
In the past, the governor always visited virtually all communities that came under attack where he normally commiserated with the victims and offered them assistance.
However, since the withdrawal of the military from both the Government House and in his convoy, the governor is restricted to Maiduguri alone.
On June 27, the Maiduguri International Airport was also shut by the Federal Government as a result of what military authorities described as “security issues”, a decision that makes it practically impossible for Shettima and other top government officials to travel out of Maiduguri.
Since the closure of the airport, the governor has not travelled to Abuja even as he could not visit any of the remaining 26 local government areas of the state.
He could not travel by road because of the apparent security implications on the highways.
Credible sources told our correspondents that no one can give “full safe assurance in any community that is 20 kilometers” outside Maiduguri and therefore it would be suicidal for the governor to embark on a long journey by road.
The relationship between Shettima and President Goodluck Jonathan went sour early this year when the Boko Haram militants stepped up attacks on various communities across the state that led to the killing of hundreds of people.
The attacks prompted series of meetings between Shettima and Jonathan at the Presidential villa in Abuja. After one of such meetings, Shettima told State House correspondents that the Boko Haram insurgents are “more equipped and more motivated” than the Nigerian security forces, a statement that both the president and his handlers did not take lightly.
Since then, the relationship between the Borno State government and the Federal government kept deteriorating. Another reason why Shettima is not finding it easy, according to our findings, is because of the Chibok incidence where 276 girls were abducted.
It was gathered that the President’s men were unhappy with Shettima’s interview on CNN during which he said the President did not call him until after 19 days of the abduction.
The withdrawal of soldiers from Borno State Government House is coming at a time when the immediate past Governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, is warming himself into the heart of the President. Alhaji Sheriff is expected to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) very soon. It would be recalled that the former governor and Governor Shettima have been engaged in a cold war over 2015 governorship candidature, and lately, the insurgency.
Source: Daily Trust
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