BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The Chairman of National Conscience Party, Yinusa Tanko, has asserted that insecurity has worsened in the country owing to the ineffective local government administration.
Tanko, in a recent interview with The Point, attributed the persistent insecurity in the land, particularly in the North, to the malfunctioning of local government councils, stating that insecurity could best be tackled at the grassroots.
The former presidential candidate of NCP, who doubles as the spokesperson of the National Consultative Front, expressed worries that the local government, which is the closest tier of government to the people, had become moribund hence, could not provide security at the grassroots.
He lamented the attitude of the state governors to the moribund state of the councils, alleging that they (the governors) deliberately denied them full autonomy.
“The current security challenge besetting the country can best be tackled from the grassroots. It is necessary for the local government system in the country to be made functional and effective to be able to provide the needed security in the local areas,” he noted.
He expressed reservations that the war against insecurity at the local level was worsening because most governors failed to utilize their security votes appropriately.
Therefore, he urged the governors to be alive to their responsibilities as chief security officers of their various states, adding that they should allow the local government councils in their states to operate independently for effectiveness and in order for them to be able to tackle insecurity.
“It is high time the state governors stopped depending totally on the federal government when it comes to protection of lives and properties,” he added.
Aligning with a statement that was credited to the Emir of Kano on insecurity in the North, Tanko said, “Many instances of loss of lives and properties in the north were never reported.
“The destruction of lives and properties as a result of the recurrent security crisis in the north cannot be measured. The North suffers more under the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari and this security crisis will surely have adverse effects on the future of the north,” he lamented.
