Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, says some former governors in the North-West geo-political zone compromised the security alliance among states in the region as they wined and dined with bandits and other terrorists.
Although Sani did not mention names, he alleged that some of the governors took an “extremely wrong” approach in managing the internal affairs of their states, resulting in the current security challenges.
He spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday.
The Governor said, “I remember when the Kaduna State Government and some states within the North-West — and even Niger State, they have borders with us — came together to work out a framework to tackle this issue of insecurity.
“We had a joint committee, joint funding, working closely with all the security agencies — the army, the air force and the police.
“But unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the alliance broke down when some state governors decided to start engaging the bandits and the terrorists sitting with them, winning and dining with them, compensating them, negotiating with them.”
He, however, argued that the creation of state police is the only viable solution to Nigeria’s security challenges.
Sani noted that state police had become imperative considering the limited powers of governors over security agencies.
The Kaduna governor also said he is pleased that virtually all state governors now agree that state police is necessary.
He said, “Recall that I was the senator that actually sponsored the creation of state police in the National Assembly. We took the bill up to the level of conference committee when we were working toward amending constitution.
“Of course the Senate agreed and supported my bill for the creation of state police but we had conference committee with the House of Reps. Unfortunately, we lost it at that stage, but I believe there is no way we can resolve or solve the problem of insecurity without the creation of state police.
“When you look at the arrangements of the security in Nigeria, state governors have limited powers in the affairs of security agencies in our country and as a senator we have done a lot in trying to support all the relevant government security agencies but unfortunately we have not achieved a lot because we realised that state governors have limited powers.
“That is the reason we believe we need to create the state police and I was happy just before the election virtually all the state governors in Nigeria came together and agreed that the way forward is the creation of state police.”
He also expressed hope that the 10th Assembly would revisit the issue of state police, assuring the legislature of his support on the matter.
Sani added, “I believe the 10th Assembly will definitely bring the issue of state police back into the conversation because that is something important.
“That was why in my inaugural speech I made it clear that even as a governor I will continue to support the 10th National Assembly to ensure we continue with the battle for creation of state police.”