By David Lawani, Abuja
A 2019 Governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue state, Surveyor John Tondu has accused Nigerian governors of being responsible for insecurity plaguing the nation, adding that the governor’s refusal to allow Local Government Autonomy is deliberate.
Hon Tondu, who is also a former Commissioner for Land and Survey in Benue state, said the state governors were “making huge money from the insecurity in their respective states, hence their refusal to work towards ending it.”
He made the allegation on Tuesday in Abuja, after he received an award of recognition from the National Association of Northern Nigerian Students as an Icon of Societal Development.
The PDP chieftain said the local government areas across the country are “moribund because the governors have done everything to stifle their autonomy”.
He stressed that the National Assembly should do everything possible to sustain the third tier of government because “it is a government closer to the people and their autonomy should be guaranteed at all means, people.”
“It is state governors that are responsible for the insecurity plaguing this country today. If the local system were functional to an extent, It will be in a position to handle the situation, because they recruit local vigilantes that know every nook and cranny of the LGA and would be able to identify criminal hideouts.
“The governors made the local government chairmen sign despite the president’s determination to make sure that money meant for the LGAs goes to them directly.
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“They make the local government chairmen sign the money into a joint account that is used for purposes not meant for. Go into the local government and find out exactly the wage bill. Take 2 to 3 LGAs as case studies. What exactly is the wage bill of such local government?
“And how much is the monthly allocation for that local government? If you can establish how much is the monthly wage bill of the local government, then ask the chairmen about the surplus of this money. How do they utilize it that for this period that you are the chairman?
“There is no single capital project that you can point to. And this money is also not there. How will you explain? You will come back and tell me the governors are responsible for the 85-95% of the insecurity that we are facing as a nation today”, he said.
