Former federal legislator Senator Binta Masi Garba has claimed that an acquaintance of hers was requested to pay N3 million for admission into the Nigeria Police Force Academy in Wudil, Kano State.
The former lawmaker, who served the Adamawa North Senatorial District from 2015 to 2019, appeared as a guest on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, broadcasted on Channels Television on Friday.
She highlighted that the nation’s security challenges are multifaceted, attributing one of the reasons to a loss of credibility in the recruitment and training processes of security agencies.
Formerly chairing the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, she recounted her personal experience, stating, “I’m one of the victims because Boko Haram took over my local government in Adamawa State, the five local governments from the northern part of Borno to Adamawa. I lost an uncle, and many of my relatives were displaced.”
“Something is wrong somewhere. I was shocked to my marrow that somebody that wants to go to school has to pay over three million naira to get admission into the Police Academy in Kano. They asked the person to pay three million naira.
“If you look at the qualifications of that person, that person should be awarded scholarship. If that person at the end of the day goes to school and he or she knows that he or she paid to get that admission, what would be the motive after school? So, credibility has been thrown into the mud.”
She emphasized that addressing the country’s insecurity, including issues like kidnapping and banditry, requires concerted efforts from both the government and the people. She stressed the importance of combating corruption and avoiding compromises to effectively tackle the insecurity challenges.
Garba added that while there’s considerable pressure on the Federal Government, the roles of state and local governments shouldn’t be overlooked.
She disclosed that a local government gets at least N2.5bn per month as allocation. “If you have N2.5bn in the local government, you won’t have the migrant level we have now,” she said, adding that “I remember we passed a legislation on local government autonomy.”
“Nigerians should ask what happened to local government funds. What happens to the N2.5bn minimum given to a local government in a month? If you have N2.5bn in a local government, the healthcare, security and education in the country will changed but everybody is looking at the Federal Government,” she said.
“On the over N160m used to buy SUV for each National Assembly member, she said, “When you have a parliamentarian and you are giving them responsibility, you need to see to their security and their wellbeing. There is no where in the world (where this is not done)… Not in the affluence angle but you need to secure the person given the responsibility.”
The ex-lawmaker lamented that the naira has lost its value as the funds which sound big when converted to foreign currency has small.
“People might think it is a waste but it is not a waste. At the end of the day, it is the government’s properties,” Garba asserted.