Governors elected on the Peoples Democratic Party platform on Thursday decried the country’s security difficulties and urged the federal government to establish state police.
They suggested that in order for Nigeria to address its issues, the current police system be decentralised, allowing for the development of state police across the country.
The PDP governors spoke in Jos on Thursday while visiting Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang at the Rayfield Government House in the aftermath of a series of gun attacks that claimed over 200 lives in the previous month and destroyed properties worth millions of naira in various communities across the state.
The PDP governors on the visit were Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ahmadu Fintiri, Adamawa; Peter Mbah, Enugu; Godwin Obaseki, Edo; and Ademola Adeleke, Osun State.
They announced the donation of N100m to the victims of the Plateau attacks.
In an interview with journalists after the visit, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Muhammed, who spoke on their behalf said, “We are just being very honest with ourselves. We are not just indicting unreasonably the Nigeria police or the security agencies as they are doing their best, but certainly the ratio of the citizens to the number of policemen is too low and the state governors know the peculiarities of their states, local governments, towns and villages.
“Nigerians want to sleep with their eyes closed and go about their normal duties peacefully, that is why we’re calling on the Federal Government to up its game by considering the establishment of state police in the country.
“There is no dissent between the governors and the national level but we need to get some decentralisation of the security apparatus so that we can enhance good governance by having good state police.”
Muhammed said the absence of state police was why different states were organising vigilantes, noting that governors in the North had begun to take a cue from their counterparts in the South-West, who formed Amotekun.
“We have seen what happened in Zamfara, Katsina, and other places. This is because Nigerians want to sleep with their two eyes closed and the PDP, as the party, has always ensured good governance,” he said.
The PDP governors commended Mutfwang’s “excellent handling of the situation (killings), despite the court battles you had to handle.”
“And so, we’re donating the sum of N100m in support of the victims of these unfortunate incidents, knowing that you are an accommodating governor who values inclusiveness with the understanding that Plateau State is home to all,” Muhammed added.
Mutfwang thanked the PDP governors for the visit and their kind gesture, saying the people of Plateau State would remain grateful.
“Like Governor Bala Muhammed said, you had a situation, particularly in the last administration where you are tempted to think that even the perpetrators of the insecurity were even being supervised by the state and this has made them become emboldened to continue to unleash terror on innocent lives but by the grace of God, we are not deterred.
“We are also trying to ensure that we build inter and intra-community harmony. One thing I have said consistently since becoming governor is that nobody can do it alone. We need unity across the divides of faith, across the divides of ethnicity. If we don’t achieve it, it’s going to be difficult for the country to be secure. So I’ve always advocated that we must do our best to ensure that we rebuild trust among our people.