By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
Concerned by shifting security threats and the rising cost of instability, Plateau State Governor, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has taken his security campaign straight to the nation’s military command centre, seeking firmer aerial support and deeper federal collaboration to steady the North Central region.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the Governor paid a high-level visit to the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters in Abuja, where he held closed-door talks with the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, in a move signalling renewed urgency around Plateau’s security architecture.
The meeting came against the backdrop of persistent communal tensions, banditry and asymmetric threats that have tested security agencies across the region.
Governor Mutfwang framed the visit as both symbolic and strategic: a clear message that Plateau is doubling down on intergovernmental cooperation to protect lives, livelihoods and economic activity.
Conveying the goodwill of the Plateau State Government and its people, the governor congratulated Air Marshal Aneke on his appointment as the 23rd Chief of the Air Staff and commended the Nigerian Air Force for its sustained operational presence in the state.
He acknowledged the evolving nature of today’s threats, describing the battlefield as unconventional and fluid.
“We are dealing with asymmetric warfare, and it is challenging,” the governor said, stressing that security pressures often intensify during festive periods and farming seasons times when rural communities are most vulnerable.
Governor Mutfwang reaffirmed his administration’s readiness to support Air Force operations, insisting that security cannot succeed in silos.
According to him, only close coordination between federal forces and state authorities can deliver durable peace, restore public confidence and create the stability required for economic recovery and growth.
Responding, Air Marshal Aneke underscored the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to its command philosophy of maintaining a highly motivated, professional and mission-ready force capable of delivering decisive airpower in support of joint security operations.
He highlighted the Air Force’s ongoing contributions to Plateau State and the wider North Central zone, including intelligence-driven surveillance missions, air mobility support and close operational coordination with sister services and other security agencies.
The CAS also acknowledged the role of the Plateau State Government in sustaining NAF operations, noting that cooperation from host communities and subnational governments remains critical to operational success.
“Support and cooperation are vital to achieving lasting security outcomes,” he said, assuring the governor of the Air Force’s continued deployment of professional, intelligence-led operations in pursuit of national security objectives.
Both leaders agreed that the next phase of collaboration must go beyond deployments to include capability development, optimised training and a whole-of-government security framework that aligns federal, state and local responses.
The engagement ended on a note of shared resolve: a commitment by both the Nigerian Air Force and the Plateau State Government to tighten their partnership, reinforce public safety and lay the groundwork for sustainable development in Plateau State and across the nation.
