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Insecurity: Senator Ikpea propounds solution

Senator Joseph Ikpea

From our news desk, Benin

The Nigeria nation continues to grope in search for an enduring solution to tame the ravaging scourge of insecurity seemingly without an appreciable success.

Amidst the search, the Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, Joseph Ikpea has propounded a remedy which he believes; if adopted, will help provide a cure and bring the disturbing situation under firm control.

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Senator Ikpea made the propoundment for the localisation of security to suit the particular challenges of the varying environments across the nation.

The distinguished Senator put forward the suggestion in Benin City, Edo State capital, while speaking with journalists a couple of days ago.

He expressed worry over the deplorable state of security in the country, and its seemingly intractable nature.

For Nigeria to successfully curtail the spiral rate of insecurity in the country, the various local government areas must take local initiatives suitable for their environments; the Senator posited.

This he held was the way to go stressing; the adoption of localisation of security measures against the menace of banditry, kidnapping and other associated crimes confronting the nation, would effectively tame the scourge.

According to him, the three security outposts he built in parts of Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State when he was the Council Chairman, are what security agencies are using today to check insecurity in the senatorial district.

He built the security outposts at a time security was relatively high, Ikpea disclosed; adding that the maintenance of the facilities and other pro-people projects, he had also injected into the 2026 budget.

Continuing, he pledged he would ensure that the projects were all executed.

Commending the development efforts of Governor Monday Okpebholo, Ikpea said he was also ensuring that all the Governor’s inputs in the budget he presented as a senator before he assumed office, were implemented.

According to him, “Before we were sworn in as chairman, some money was saved for the councils and this money, we were told, would be used for capital projects.

“I initiated capital projects that comprehensively covered a lot of things. Among them were security posts now being used to check insecurity and kidnapping in Edo central.

“If you are coming from Ubiaja, you will see one security post built before the river leading to Ewatto because the road is lonely. I just felt then; let me put it. We don’t know what tomorrow will look like. So I built that.

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“Then I went before Ewatto, I put one there. Then I went to Ewohimi, if you are going to Oniocha Ugbo, I put another one there. By the grace of God today, that is what the Army is using, that is where they are staying now.

“Security like politics; is local! All local government areas chairmen must look inwards and device means and ways of effectively checkmating the activities of the criminals operating in their localities.

“This is what we did by that local initiative of constructing those security outposts at a time insecurity was not a big challenge,” Ikpea asserts.

He added, a provision is also in the budget of 2026 to maintain these facilities.

“When I was chairman of the council, there was no water in the council secretariat. We were going to the prison yard to fetch water but I built a borehole for the council and also acquired another source of electricity to power the council and the borehole.” He stated.

Ikpea further asserts, that his administration also built a magistrate court in Ubiaja which was built from the scratch to completion in addition to donating hospital equipment to all the health centres in the local government area.

The Senator said as a member of the Board of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), he attracted the renovation of public primary schools in the senatorial district, and facilitated the employment of 550 teachers into the State civil service.

Senator Ikpea disclosed that since he was sworn-in; in October 2025 he had been able to attract rehabilitation work in a primary school in Uromi through a supplementary budget.

Ikpea is the senatorial candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), for the 2027 National Assembly election in the Edo Central Senatorial District.

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