From Abel Leonard, Lafia

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has warned that his administration will take stringent actions against perpetrators of crime and criminality in the state, stressing that government will beef up security around Nasarawa Eggon.

The governor advised political appointees and other top government functionaries, to be a little more cautious while going about their responsibilities.

The Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lawal Yakubu, was kidnapped Tuesday at his home town Nasarawa Eggon local government area of the state.

The governor made this known while chairing the quarterly meeting of the Nasarawa Enabling Business Environment Council, at the Government House, on Tuesday.

Reacting to the incident involving the state Commissioner of Information, Mallam Yakubu Lawal, who was kidnapped last night in Nasarawa Eggon by unknown gunmen, Engineer Sule said efforts are on top gear to draft additional security to Nasarawa Eggon to safeguard the lives of citizens.

He further urged top government officials in the state to ensure they have adequate security protection, adding that, the state Commissioner of Police, Adesina Soyemi, has expressed readiness to provide protection to government officials.

The governor decried the spade of kidnapping in Nasarawa Eggon saying three kidnappings within a short period, is unfortunate but that government is determined to handle the situation.

“I urge you, first and foremost, to be cautious and secondly, seek protection also from your own end.

“I have no idea that some of our commissioners don’t have police attached to them until today. While other commissioners are having three or four policemen because of the situation they find themselves in, other commissioners don’t even want it. This is a very wrong approach. We should seek police protection. The CP is more than happy to support you,” he stated.

Sule assured however that, his administration will address the spade of kidnappings in Nasarawa Eggon.

“In a week, we now have three incidences, for that reason, we can’t fold our arms. We have to be able to take a stronger position. I urge you as members of the executive, especially top government functionaries, to do the best you can, to be more cautious. It’s unfortunate that a commissioner will be driving alone in the middle of the night,” he said.

Speaking on the essence of the meeting, the governor said since Nasarawa State has continued to attract more and more investment, there’s a need for the council to continue to take all seriousness as it affects the efficiency of attracting business into the state.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nasarawa Investment Development Agency (NASIDA), Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the Nasarawa Enabling Business Environment Council is the apex body for discussing the bottlenecks and barriers to bringing business into the state.

Abdullahi emphasised that the council, has in the past years, ushered in new reforms in the state business environment which has put the state as a top destination for doing business in Nigeria.

The meeting has in attendance all relevant MDAs that have to do with ease of doing business in the state.