Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has lend his voice to the growing call for the decentralisation of power between the Federal Government and 36 states in the country.
The governor made his position known while speaking at a programme called ‘Radio Now’s Urgent Conversation’ which aired on Friday on Channels Television.
He expressed that state police and devolution of the judiciary is important to save Nigeria from the brink of collapse.
El-Rufai stated;
I will dwell on three of the issues that I believe are critical to the immediate needs of the country to pull back from the brink. The first, it is imperative for Federal, state, and community policing. We do not have enough police. One centralised police for the country just has not worked.
He also called for state control of resources and a less unitary judiciary, saying;
Secondly, we must amend the constitution and relevant laws to ensure control of oil and gas, mines, and minerals in the states that already have control over land under the land use Act with royalties and taxes payable to the Federal Government and the Federation Account.
Number three, we must rectify the anomaly of a Federation that has a more or less unitary judiciary.
While stressing his earlier points highlighted, the governor said;
My first recommendation is to implement the three key devolution proposals that I mentioned above. Give us state police now, vest all minerals in the state now, and decentralised our judiciary now, not tomorrow, not later.
Speaking on the current level of insecurity in the country, El-Rufai stressed that banditry is a national problem and it is the responsibility of relevant stakeholders to calm nerves through their utterances and not fan the embers of division.
The Governor said;
It is an understatement to say that Nigeria is in one of its most difficult moments. The genuine fears for their lives and property felt by many citizens across the country need to be assuaged. All responsible persons must show compassion to our compatriots that have been affected while calming nerves.
Banditry is a national problem, with victims from all parts of the country, and we should address it with a common resolve.
According to the governor, the country requires elite consensus to take the poison out of identity politics.
