PDP Governors Visits Mutfwang, Calls For Police Decentralization

The country’s security issues have been bemoaned by governors elected on the Peoples Democratic Party platform yesterday. 

The PDP governors spoke in Jos, Plateau State capital when they visited the Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang at the Rayfield Government House.

The visit comes after a spate of gunman assaults and killings in the state that have reportedly claimed over 200 lives in the last month and destroyed homes valued at millions of naira in different communities.

 The Governors suggested that the country’s current police structure needs to be decentralized to make room for the creation of state police across the nation.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, who is also the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Muhammed, said, “We are just being very honest with ourselves. We are not just indicting unreasonably the Nigerin police or the security agents as they are doing their best, but certainly, the ratio between citizens to policing is very low and the states know the peculiarities of their states and local governments and their towns and villages and even the crisis of community crisis and others.

“So we have always been advocating. There is no dissent between the governors and the National level but we need to get some decentralization of the security apparatus so that we can enhance good governance by having good state police.”

“And again, that would allow us to engage the structure, the security agencies to train our youths and also make sure the rules of engagement are not abused; there are no extrajudicial killings, and so on.

“We will work in tandem with established practice, globally rather than just be forced to be doing vigilante. Even on the vigilante, we’re doing our best to make sure we involve the security agencies, but we are still being accused. We are copying from Amotekun.

“We have seen what happened in Zamfara, in Katsina, and other places. This is good to go because Nigerians want to sleep with their two eyes closed and the PDP, as a party, has always ensured good governance as our governor of Plateau said.

“We have no option other than to show the difference between beans and rice. That’s what we are trying to do to – make sure we bring projects and programmes, good governance with the little resources we have, even though we may not get special intervention, but we are doing best with the least that we have.”

Earlier, Muhammad informed the state governor that the forum’s members had come to the state to express their sympathies to him and the Plateau people on the security difficulties they were facing.

“We have come to register our sympathy to you over the crisis you have been confronted with and to also commend your excellent handling of the situation, despite the court battles you had to handle.

“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.

According to Muhammad, the PDP governors would support the Plateau governor in order to help him get through the crisis.

“And so we’re donating the sum of N100 million 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,” the chairman added.

In a statement, Mutfwang expressed gratitude to the PDP governors for their goodwill visit and assurance that the people of Plateau State would always be appreciative of them.

In the interest of the people who voted him into office, he bemoaned the suffering that the state’s citizens had endured as a result of the state’s lack of security and said that his administration would keep trying its hardest to remedy the issue and deliver sound governance.-