…Jigawa seeks state police
From: Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Kano and Kastina state Governments, on Thursday, canvassed for the sustenance of a strong central government in Nigeria as against calls for the devolution of the powers of the government at the center.
The positions of the two Northwest states were made public during the North West Zonal Public Hearing on True Federalism which was held at the Coronation Hall, Kano State Government House.
Giving an insight into the contents of the memorandum of the state, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, declared that the ongoing clamor for true federalism in some quarters should not be construed as an attempt at weakening the central government.
He expressed support for “a strong Federal Government which is founded with a clear responsibility and sufficient resources to guarantee the development of the federating units”.
While restating support for the indivisibility of the Nigeria, he advocated for a strong Federal Government that would be strengthened to define and set uniform minimum national standards in all facets of national life with the objective to ensure even spread of social amenities and balanced economy.
Similarly, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has equally supported the call for a strong central government in he country.
He, also, sought for an arrangement that recognised the peculiar needs of the different federating units, but stressed that the powers of the central government must not be weakened in the process of the devolution.
He offered that recent events in the country, such as agitations, rebellion and insurgency in some parts of the country had all made a case for a strong central government that could deal with such situations.
He objected to the creation of additional states, saying that the fact that there were still clamors for additional states after several state creations was a reason to switch to the fundamental problems.
Giving insight into their submission, Jigawa State government also rejected the push for the creation of additional states, saying it made no sense creating more states when most of the existing states were unviable..
Secretary to the Jigawa State Government, Alhaji Adamu Abdulkadiri Fanini , who canvassed for independent candidates in the political process, demanded the creation of state police for the improvement of security at the state level, saying it was well known that most state governments were providing huge support to the police in the area of equipment and logistics.
Jigawa State also sought for the devolution of the functions of the Federal government in the area of agriculture, education, road construction and health while asking for increased allocation to states and local governments.
The Public Hearing was chaired by a former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, and some other top party members within the APC. The Government of Kaduna State was not represented at the hearing.