Governor of Plateau State, Jonah David Jang, has berated Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State over their call for a state police during their Tuesday’s visit to Port Harcourt, saying it is self-serving and an after-thought.
Jang said the northern governors had vehemently opposed him when he pushed for the establishment of state police, only to make a u-turn now because it would “enable them achieve their selfish political ambition, rather than addressing the prevailing security challenges facing the nation.”
“Those calling for state police now are doing so as an after-thought and not for nationalistic reasons. Their calls are stemming from their own induced interpretation of certain events beyond their political control, and so would wish to see a state police that is readily available to handle a delicate political operation,” the governor explained.
Jang, in a press statement signed by state Commissioner of Information and Communication, Yiljap Abraham, in Jos, stressed that the four governors who took the decision after a visit to their counterpart in Rivers State are pained because of certain political operations which are beyond their reach.
The statement said Governor Jang’s consistent call for the state police is geared towards addressing the prevailing security challenges and to promote deeper practice of democratic federalism.
“The hard-to-believe statement by four northern state governors who visited the Rivers State governor in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, July 16, 2013, should strike some repulsion in us as a nation, (particularly) of how not to be elegant regarding public policy,” he said, adding that it was a somersault, especially relying on “a constitutional necessity as they called it.”
The governor said, “The call is stemming from their own induced interpretation of certain events beyond their political easy control – and so would wish to see a state police that is readily available to handle a delicate political operation.”
He insisted that, “The Plateau State Government strongly believes that the establishment of state police will promote deeper practice of democratic federalism. We maintain our consistency on this very matter.
“For those just waking up to this reality in far away states other than theirs, it does appear the chicken has finally come home to roost. It is on record that almost all Nigerian governors had in June 2012 agreed to prevail on the Federal Government to urgently consider the creation of state police as a solution to the state of violence in the country.
“But about a month after that, most northern state governors had backtracked and opted to drop their demand for the creation of state police with (such) reasons that the country may not presently be ripe for a state police, because most of them were not financially buoyant to own such an institution, that state police might be used by any government in power to muzzle the opposition and breed tyranny.
“That state police might breed more security problems in the North than addressing the insecurity in the region; that we also think that funding is a major issue the governors have been considering; that it is not a tea party to fund any police system when you talk of staffing, equipment and providing adequate security.”
The statement added that Jang was not in doubt that these reasons by the opposing governors then were spurious, unconvincing and incoherent.
Specifically, the statement said, “Jang’s reason for calling for the creation of state police is hinged on the protracted attacks on communities in the state. As a government, we have sustained our efforts in tackling the peace and security challenge. Some of these include establishing the Inter-religious Committee for Peace and Harmony, holding stakeholders’ meetings, establishment of Operation Rainbow and producing white papers on reports of investigation into the crises in Jos.”
Also yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the state chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned Tuesday’s solidarity visit of four northern governors to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi at Government House in Port Harcourt.
The state chairman of the party, Felix Obuah, told journalists that the visit was aimed at fuelling the crisis in the state and also an avenue to squander the state’s resources.
Obuah said, “The Rivers State PDP will no longer keep quiet and watch Governor Amaechi squander the resources of the state on irrelevant persons and interests. The party is sad and unimpressed by the solidarity visit of four northern PDP governors to Government House in Port Harcourt.
“It is unnecessary and has no other motive other than to aggravate the political crisis in Rivers State. They have come not only to encourage, but to fuel the crisis and milk our resources dry as it has always been their game plan. We condemn the visit in its entirety.
“We call on the Federal Government, the national leadership of the PDP and the National Assembly to call these fifth columnists to order.”
Also, a group under the aegis of Concerned Rivers State Elders, led by Chief Sergeant Awuse, said the four northern governors had no business coming to Rivers State, while they were being confronted by security issues in their states in the North.
Awuse queried: “Why are they in Rivers State? What have they come to do in our state? They have come to fuel the crisis in Rivers State. But my advice to them is for them to go back and settle the security issues in their respective states.”
Source: Daily Newswatch
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