(Big Story).
There has been confusion regarding the allegations made by one of the Zamfara state lawmakers, Aliyu Ango Kagara, who lamented that the state government has sharply reduced the monthly cash allocation of emirate councils from N5M per emirate to N500,000.
Kagara, in one of their parallel proceedings earlier this week, lamented that this decision has caused a serious administrative gap at the emirate councils.
He stated that Governor Dauda was following the misguided advice of his Special Adviser on Economic Matters in making the painful decision to reduce the cash allocation of the emirs to N500,000.
He also alleged that the Governor was attempting to execute a sinister plan to reduce the number of emirate councils from (19) to (5).
Speaker after speaker corroborated the concerns raised by Kagara, citing the recent scenario of the demise of the Emir of Gusau, the late Alhaji Ibrahim Bello. They claimed that the state government, under Governor Dauda Lawal, refused to act to save the life of the late emir.
They alleged that throughout his medical tours to Kano and later Abuja, the monarch was neither assisted nor supported by Dauda Lawal’s government.
They also referenced the case of the Emir of Bukkuyum, who they alleged had to have one of his legs amputated due to a lack of support from the state government.
They alleged that emirs in Zamfara always find it difficult to pay the salaries of their domestic staff due to the lack of release of their statutory allocation from the government of Zamfara State.
NON-REMITTANCE OF THE APPROVED 5% STATUTORY FUNDS TO EMIRATE COUNCILS.
The parallel lawmakers argued that the refusal of the Zamfara State government, led by Dauda Lawal, to release the approved 5% as contained in the Zamfara Emirate Law remains the major reason why emirate councils in Zamfara are facing crises.
Leading the debate on this issue, lawmaker Farooq Dosara insisted that if the statutory 5% were being remitted as approved by the State House of Assembly, emirate councils in Zamfara would have become more active in running their affairs.
Dosara urged other lawmakers to support his motion by passing a resolution to ensure that the government is forced to release the money as approved.
REFUSAL OF THE ZMSG TO APPOINT OVER (30) DISTRICT & VILLAGE HEADS SINCE THE INCEPTION OF HIS ADMINISTRATION
The lawmakers alleged that the government of Dauda Lawal had deliberately refused to appoint over 30 district and village heads who have died during his two years in office.
They claimed that this move was intended to frustrate the traditional rulers and also tactically reduce their numbers.
Kagara specifically insisted that to manage the crisis in Zamfara, especially the issue of insecurity, the Governor must not underestimate the role that traditional rulers can play in stabilizing the state.
RESOLUTION OF THE FACTIONAL LAWMAKERS
The lawmakers resolved that, since the law allows for the removal of 5% of statutory funds from the local government account, the state assembly shall ensure that the money, if deducted, is transparently remitted to the emirate council’s accounts.
They resolved that the resolution be communicated to the state Governor for action
