By
Managing Editor
________________________
Zamfara state chapter of the All Progressive Congress has described as fraudulent the attempt by the Governor of Zamfara Dauda Lawal to open a security trust fund account without carrying legislative arm of the government along.
According to the statement by the APC spokesperson Yusuf Idris Gusau the proposed security bill before the House of Assembly was drafted to be jointly funded by the state and local governments as well as make appeal to wealthy individuals like Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, and their likes within and outside the country for buying arms among others.
Idris alleges in the statement that because the body language of the bill has demonstrated that the Governor of Zamfara is planning to withdraw the whole 20 billion Naira from the local government, a serious crise has emerged, especially the inability of the state to pay staff of local governments their two months salaries.
He also wondered why the Governor is targeting the security trust fund account to procure arms, even when the issue of procurement of arms remains an exclusive preserve of the government at the center.
“Something very fraudulent in the bill is that custody of the said security fund nor the beneficiaries have not been made clear but just remains a blank bill which the house members are currently questioning, leading to refusal by the lawmakers to accept or pass the bill”.
“So we are calling on the federal government and security agencies in particular to use their constitutional ways of protecting people’s lives and property to call the governor to order against this unhealthy development which he earlier refused to heed to the lawmakers’ advice but is listening to only one person who has run out of security advice to offer and is blinded by the need to continue to amass money and build estates in the state and elsewhere” the statement added.
“If the governor is serious about addressing insecurity in the state, he should find better and workable ways that peace will return to the state, rather than using the taxpayers money to enrich themselves”.
Yusuf challenged the Governor that since the inception of the PDP government, Governor Dauda Lawal has not been holding regular security meetings and as such he shut the door for the security chiefs to be able to give him a briefing on the security situation of the state.
He also alleged that instead, the Governor relied on the advice of some outdated security heads on matters regarding insecurity in the state.
The APC will certainly not fold its arms to see this open stealing for endowment or whatever to short change the people who are increasingly being killed daily with the governor not even having the time to visit and console victims’ family members but is using their unfortunate situation to further exploit them” the statement added.
