President Muhammadu Buhari says his party, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), has tried its best in improving the security situation in Nigeria.
Buhari stated this on Monday in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital while condoling with the victims of the State.
Taraba is one of the states which has witnessed series of clashes which has seen over 200 persons dead.
“Worst critics of APC will agree that we have tried in improving the security situation in the country, right from the Boko Haram attacks,” the president said in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu.
The president said he visited mainly to meet with representatives and traditional rulers appealing to them to pursue peace in their various chiefdoms and also extend his condolences to affected families.
“I came here mainly to have this forum with leaders, traditional rulers and the state government to extend my condolences to all those who have lost loved ones and properties.
“I am appealing to the traditional rulers not to give up in pursuing peace. The country has to be secured before you can manage the economy.”
The president was received by Governor Darius Ishaku and state’s lawmakers, led by the speaker.
Ishaku said the state was delighted to welcome the President in its trying time.
Ishaku said the state was contending with a different breed of herdsmen who are militias moving around with AK 47 rifles to remove anything in their way, unlike the known herdsmen who had cohabited with the people for decades without skirmishes.
“The problem is never between the locals. The local Fulani and other tribes blend without issues.
“We have a new breed and specie of herdsmen militias who move around with sophisticated weapons; they are poised to remove anything in their track.
“They must be arrested now before it degenerates to something we can not contend with,” Ishaku said.
Opinion leaders from various warring ethnic groups in the state insisted that justice and fairness must be seen to be taking their course and the rule of law allowed to prevail for peace to return.
The President was accompanied by Minister of Women Affairs Hajia Aisha Alhassan, Minister of Defence Manir Dan Ali, Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed, some Service Chiefs and National Assembly members from the state.