Says FG starving police of logistics, fuel
ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi-
The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has blamed the high level of secessionists’ agitations in some parts of the country to injustices and nepotism.
Governor Mohammed revealed this on Monday, when members of the House of Representative Committee for Zonal Public Hearing on the 1999 Constitution Review, Bauchi centre, paid a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House
He said the current agitations for the creation of state police is meant to complement the efforts of the Federal Government at providing security to Nigerians and not as a tool to settle political differences with rivals.
The Governor, however, lamented that the Federal Government has neglected The Nigeria Police Force by refusing to cater for their logistics and fuel needs to help them in policing the country.
He said: “Don’t feel bad that some sections of the country are saying they want to go (breakaway), it is just because there is injustice, if there is injustice and nepotism, people will be feeling that they want to self actualize themselves. In Bauchi, we feel so bad because we are at the center, we used to export labour, we cannot do it any longer.
“We also agitate for state police not because we want to compete with the Federal Government, the power of coercion, the security is under the exclusive list, we are just going to draw powers from that power so that the rules of engagement, the template will be provided by the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Army and all the federal agencies, so that we can complement the efforts of the Nigerian Police to provide security”.
“We are already providing security in the states as governors, some of the issues around security votes is not that we eat (sic) money from the security votes, it is because we give logistics to the police”.
“If we don’t give logistics to the Police, they cannot operate. Federal government is not giving them anything, they don’t give them vehicles, they don’t give them fuel, which we do. If we can do that out of sheer complimentality and goodwill, when the responsibility is squarely put on us and resources freed from the federal government jand kkkkkkj to us, definitely, we will do much and we will take care so that the state Police is not used for political reasons to settle political scores.”
He said that the north is capable of being economically independent due to the unlimited resources it has at its disposal.
“We cannot, as northern states that are completely dependent on federation account, continue to be lamenting and passing the buck on the federal government”.
“We have to free resources, there are a lot of resources in the states. The northern states are not parasites, we are capable of being independent, we can be seen to just be taking resources from the other federating states”.
“Yes , when the Nigeria nation was created, we provided the little capital that the nation took off with but today we relented and became oilshakes and we are looking up to other places.”
“With the restructuring going on, what we are doing in Bauchi and other northern states, it shows that we can be economically independent. Nigeria is a symbiosis, we have so much to produce at the centre, not only oil,” he stated.
Speaking earlier, Dr. Aminu Suleiman said he is leading a 6-man team which would give a fair hearing to every side at the public hearing proceeding that would commence on Tuesday, taking into cognizance the interest and yearnings of the people.
He commended the governor for what he has done in the state saying: “We arrived yesterday and we were surprised at the instance of the governor, arrangements had been made to conduct us round the state for on-the-spot assessment of what the government has been able to do for the people of Bauchi State”.
“It took us by surprise because I am a member of a committee that has presence in all the 36 states of the federation. At times, we apply permission for oversight of projects, but most of the states will always decline for obvious reasons. Am therefore surprised that without asking, Bauchi state is already willing to expose what they have been able to do for the people.”