BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN—GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has urged politicians to resist the temptation of playing politics with security matters in the interest of the country.

Speaking at a security management workshop organised by the Department of State Services, DSS, in Benin City, yesterday, Oshiomhole said playing politics with sensitive security matters will only encourage the perpetrators to do more.

He said: “Nothing else matters when we are not safe. I also want to advise those of us holding political offices, who have cause sometimes to make public statements, that we must resist the temptation of politicising security issues. All politicians, whether of the ruling or opposition party, must not join in the madness of politicising security issues.

“If we fail to do this, we will be encouraging kidnappers and other evil-minded people. We must resist the temptation and trust that the security agencies know what to do. Even where we have information, it is better we share it in private with the security agencies so that all of us can be on the same page.

“Those of us who are senior officials of government, people look up to us and we should be able to educate those we come across on basic security issues. These people who are into violent crimes and terrorism do not live in the moon, they live with us. Sometimes we interact with them without knowing what their intentions are.”
He thanked the DSS for the initiative and expressed the hope that at the end of the exercise, the participants would have comprehended basic tips on security.