The governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Enugu State, Frank Nweke Jnr., has said the failure of political and economic leadership is responsible for the complete breakdown of law and order in the state.

Speaking in a television interview in Abuja on Tuesday, Nweke, a former Minister of Information, however, highlighted key steps needed to address the security challenges bedevilling Enugu State.

The former minister said the level of economic deprivation of the people must be urgently addressed with the appropriate leadership, adding that the failure of the leadership in the state to address poverty and hunger created the foundation for the rise in the level of insecurity.

Nweke said confronting issues of socio-economic development would be paramount to solving security challenge in the state.

“In order to tackle insecurity, we need to pay attention to issues around socio-economic development. Number one will be investment in the right infrastructures -the education infrastructure and health infrastructure.

”But most importantly, you must make concerted efforts by putting in place the right policies and the right incentives to make your state the destination of choice for investors.

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“It is the investors that you encourage to come in and invest that will create the jobs that will empower the teeming population of young people in the state. That is what you must do and that is at the root of the matter,” he said.

Nweke stated that mitigative measures also need to be taken against people who have chosen a life of crime, adding that that there ought to be a very strong partnership between the political leadership and security agencies through the provision of necessary and right support for optimal and result-driven service to the state.

“You and I also know the significant challenges that these security agencies face. As a state governor, you must then consider how you can support them with equipment, with incentives, and with right words to encourage them to perform optimally,” the governorship candidate stated.

Nweke further stressed the need for citizens’ participation in the security of lives and properties in their communities, saying government cannot do it alone.

The former minister said irrespective of what the issues are, emphasis still rests on the leadership that has the capacity to do the needful and implement strategies that would restore stability to security in the state.

The Star