The All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled states plan to set up a Security Trust Fund for the purpose of tackling security challenges in the country.
The proposal was the highlight of decisions reached at the second quarterly meeting of the Secretaries to the Governments of APC-controlled States in Sokoto.
The meeting took place under the auspices of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF).
It was hosted by the Sokoto State Government with the theme: “Setting enabling framework for implementation of Progressive Governors’ Forum policy briefs.”
In a communiqué at the end of the meeting, the SSGs said the plan to set up the fund was in furtherance of the decision reached at their inaugural meeting in Lagos.
They advised member states to “adopt and adapt the Security Trust Fund model law produced from PGF’s Legislative Expert session.”
A critical aspect of the proposal is that a minimum of one percent of total costs of all contracts awarded by states and local governments be paid into the Trust Fund.
The communiqué by the Secretary to the Sokoto State Government, Bashir Garba, lauded the federal and states governments’ efforts in tackling security issues in the country, particularly in the North East.
It added: “Recognising paucity of resources in the country, particularly the effects of the recession, it becomes imperative to enhance the generation of resources in each of the APC states to engender implementation of policy initiatives.
“In this regard, the meeting acknowledged the critical need for enhanced revenue base of states. It recommends that states should adopt and adapt the collection and administration of revenue model law proposed by the PGF Secretariat to establish an Internal Revenue Service (IRS).”
It expressed happiness at the recent securing of the release of 82 of the abducted Chibok girls.
On agriculture, the meeting stressed the need to address the dual challenges of poverty and unemployment across the country, adding that the agricultural sector is a common platform to address these issues.
It said: “The agricultural sector is the main stay of the economy, hence there is the need for it to be taken to higher level. To this end, APC state governments as a bloc should align their agricultural policies with those of the Federal Government to maximize their benefits.
“The states should also work with the private sector to strengthen all year farming through increased investment in irrigation, farm mechanization, expand land utilization and introduce smart and precision agriculture.
“There is also the need to develop clusters of farmers within and across states and provide supports to the clusters across the value chain.
“To achieve this requires investing at least 10% of state budget on agriculture and the political will to ensure release of funds, proper utilization on knowledge and data base agriculture.
“It is important to develop integrated agricultural policy that provides linkages across sectors of the economy and society, like water resources, education, health, energy and industry, among others.”