Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has again insisted that no part of the state is under occupation by Boko Haram insurgents.

The governor however admitted that the insurgents still pose a danger to innocent citizens of the state as they go about attacking soft targets in desperation, adding that the military should be commended for degrading the capacity of the insurgents and restoring peace to the state and the northeast in general.

Gov. Shettima, who stated this while receiving the  the newly appointed Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Abdulmalik Bulama Biu during a courtesy visit at the Government House, Maiduguri said those peddling such news were enemies of the state who are bent on impeding its progress.

He lamented that opposition leaders and politicians who fled at the heat of the crisis in the state were the purveyors of the clandestine campaign against the state.

His words: “As Chief Security Officer in Borno State, I am grateful to President Mohammed Buhari, the military, security agencies, stakeholders and people of the state for their sustained effort towards the fight against Boko Haram.

“In the last four years, our major highways that link us with other parts of the country and the entire state were under siege, but we are proud of our President and the Nigerian Army for bringing sanity and peace to our dear state.

“I am personally saddened by some Borno opposition politicians who have relocated to Abuja, Lagos and other places during the peak of the insurgency and making unnecessary noise regarding the calamities that befell us.

“Instead of them to pray while they relocated, they were busy raising unnecessary criticisms on us as government, but thank God that all their bad plans against this government ended up hitting the rock.

“As a government, our doors will always remain open for the military to fraternize and see how we would continue to give our maximum support and cooperation to end Boko Haram madness in our dear state.”

He called on the new GOC as a son of the soil with a good knowledge of the nooks and cranies of the state and the troops under his watch to consolidate on the remarkable achievements of his predecessors to end the lingering crisis.

Responding, the new GOC said he was at the Government House to officially register his presence alongside his lieutenants.

“I am here for three issues. First is to thank your Excellency for the support you have been providing in the business of security, present myself to you and the people of the state on my preparedness to rapidly achieve the much desired peace we are all rooting for, and to seek for your sustainable effort in supporting the military.

“I came with an open mind, ready to contribute beyond the call of my duty. Under my watch, we will continue to respect the rules of engagement so that the rights of the people will not be truncated by our sacrificial troops as we collectively team up to end Boko Haram,” Biu said.