Kebbi State governor, Nasir Idris, mobilises the military for surveillance operations with N500 million monthly.
The Senator representing Kebbi South Senatorial District, Garba Maidoki, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made this disclosure in an exclusive interview with ThePrideNews correspondent, Wednesday in Abuja.
According to him: “My governor told us that every month, he spends N500 million on the Nigerian Army. Where is the money?,”
“We agreed with the Nigeria security when we were here that certain places that are prone to attacks, they will establish front bases there. In my senatorial districts, they have identified three, they set up one. That one alone has reduced our banditry by more than 80 per cent.
“The remaining two, as I am talking to you, they have not established it and if we appropriate money to the Nigerian Army and they are telling us they cannot set up a base until the governor gives them money, I think we have a problem,”
”The truth is we are not doubting the improvement in security, particularly in my area where I can speak authoritatively. We have full improved security, but there are still pockets of problems here and there. I told the Senate how some villagers in my constituency came and met me on the problem they are facing on banditry, being their representative in the Government, I have directed them to go and see the State Governor, They went to Birnin Kebbi unfortunately, they didn’t meet with the State Governor, but they presented their letter in Government House.
“They came back, two weeks later, bandits enter; amongst those people who came, 12 of them where killed in their own farms. And as their representative, I feel completely responsible even though I don’t have the power or instrument to stop the banditry . What they are expected to do, they have done it, They came to me, they reported this problem! They went to the Governor, they reported this problem! Unfortunately, we are not able to save their lives. So sad we went for condolence, and that is the most unfortunate of the unfortunate.
“the State Governor told us his contribution to keeping security in that area or in Kebbi State as a whole. Monetary wise, to the tune of 500 million monthly. And I was asking the Senate, where is the money we passed for the Army to do their job, what is it for? Army now have to wait until the State Governor give them grant before they do their job? That is the question for Nigerians to understand and to know, and it’s sad! We appropriated money for security, and we think that money is big enough to address the problem. I cannot understand why Army or any law enforcement agency, The Police, will wait for the Governor to give them counterpart funding before they undertake their job. And this is now a norm in Nigeria security system.
He noted that if police send a detachment to any constituency, if the Governor didn’t take the bills, they will not send the detachment.
“We don’t know whether the money we have given them is not sufficient. And if it is not sufficient, none of them came back to the National Assembly and tell us the money you gave us is not sufficient to do their job. We have a memorandum of understanding with the Nigeria Security Chiefs, what they were going to deliver at the end of this year. We are waiting to see that the money we give them, they have delivered to their promise. If they didn’t, we will tell The President that we had….before we confirmed them, we had an agreement, we have the KIPs together with them. At the end of this year, we are going to check the KIPs. And we will tell Nigerians where they stand on those KIPs, thank you very much.
