A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the 2019 general elections in Benue State John Tondu, has blamed governors for the increasing wave of insecurity in the country.
He also alleged that the governor’s refusal to allow local government autonomy is deliberate.
He made these allegations yesterday in Abuja after he received an award of recognition from the National Association of Northern Nigerian Students as an “Icon of Societal Development.”
Tondu lamented that the governors have rendered local government administration across the country moribund and stifled their autonomy. He stressed that the National Assembly should do everything possible to sustain the third tier of government because it is the level of government that is closer to the people.
He also identified the operation of joint accounts by the local government councils as being responsible for the non-performance of the third tier government. Once allocation comes, the money goes straight to the state government’s account and whatever the governors decide to give them that is what they are to operate with despite that it is always below the wage bill of the councils.
He said: “It is state governors that are responsible for the insecurity that is taking place in this country. This is because the local system is functional to an extent.
“The local government will be in a position within because local vigilante knows every nook and cranny of the council and is able to identify where criminals are hiding.
“Even if they are willing, they won’t be able to achieve that because the state governors are taking the resources meant for the local government,” he said.
He regretted that despite the police, DSS and Civil Defence being in the local government councils, little is known about them because hardly will the governors share their security votes with the local government chairmen.
“I have the privilege of working in government, the local government chairman doesn’t have access to N2 million as security votes in that local government area. Where a local government chairman will need to spend N2 million on issues of security in a state, he will have to get across to the governor if such approval will be given to him to be able to access the N2 million,” he said.