The Rivers State Command of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), has passionately appealed to the Executive Governor of the State, Chief Nyesom Wike to come to the aid of the command in order to enhance its operations and performance. The command has also thanked the Governor for being supportive of other security agencies in the state.
The Acting Commander of VGN in Rivers State, Commander Chukwuka Osumah, who made the appeal while speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt said the command is in dire need of logistic support from the Governor to make it one of the most effective in the country, adding that hilux vans and other security equipment and facilities which the para-military outfit in the state is currently lacking would go a long way to enhance its operations.
He reiterated that the outfit has been assisting other security agencies in the state to fight criminality in the state, particularly in the areas of intelligence and information gathering as well as dissemination of same to other security agencies, and assured that if the Governor extends his usual magnanimity to the command, the security outfit would do more in promoting peace and security in the state.
While thanking Governor Wike for supporting the police and other security agencies in the State, Osumah said, VGN in the state would be most grateful to him if it is remembered in a similar manner, stressing that there is only one VGN in the state under his leadership.
The VGN Commander said it would be a thing of joy if Governor Wike follows the footsteps of his counterparts in Delta and Abia States, who he said had fabulously assisted the outfit in those states in various ways, contending that both in the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones, Rivers State prominently stands out as Governor Wike’s name rings a bell across the country, going by the good works of his administration.
He said states in the North have also been supportive of VGN, stressing that states like Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger, among others, for example, had donated hilux vehicles and motorcycles to the security outfit.
According to him, the Commander General of VGN, Dr Usman Mohammed Jahun recently visited Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State who also supported the outfit.
Osumah used the medium to appeal to members of the outfit to close ranks and assist the state government to fight crime and criminality in order to make the state, which he said the Wike administration has transformed into a destination of choice to be safer for all residents.
He thanked Governor Wike for ensuring that the Rivers State Neighbourhood Watch takes off in the state.
Also lending his voice, the Deputy Commander of VGN in Rivers State, Commander Elijah Okere, said Governor Wike is a man of projects, who is making the state proud, and pleaded with him to extend his good works to VGN in the state by providing vehicles and other security gadgets to the outfit to enable its operatives do their work more effectively.
According to him, VGN in the state needs adequate support, as its operatives are the frontiers in the fight against insurgency and criminality in the country.
On his part, the Assistant Commander of VGN in charge of Training, Commander Joseph Har said the request for Governor Wike to come to the aid of VGN in the state is timely and necessary, as he (the Governor) does not take the issue of security for granted having demonstrated this by giving full support to other security agencies in the state.
He appealed to the Governor to extend his magnanimity to VGN, which he described as a grassroots security outfit by providing its operatives with hilux vans as well as security boats to patrol the riverine areas.
