Ekiti State Governor, Chief Ayodele Fayose, has said the claim by Zamfara
State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, that security agencies failed to
respond to the alert given them to prevent the massacre of people in
Zamfara has vindicated his stance that no extra $1billion needed to be
deducted from the Excess Crude Oil Account to fund the fight against
insurgency.
Fayose, who addressed newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, said funds being
spent on security seemed not well used, as instead of insecurity being
curtailed, the nation was unfortunately witnessing more killings on a daily
basis.
In a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi,
he quoted Fayose as saying that if security agencies were not properly
utilising the funds given them, “why giving them more.”
According to Fayose, “Governor Yari is the Chairman of the Nigerian
Governors’ Forum, he is the one saying we should give $1 billion from ECA
to these security people and he said despite alerting security agencies
over 24 hours before the needless killings in his state, they failed to
rise to the occasion. That was not the first time such a thing would
happen. Recall that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State said the same
thing. Also, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State said a similar thing.
” On all the occasions, the security agencies failed to act. More than 73
people were killed in Benue, scores killed in Taraba and we now have the
Zamfara issue. Regrettably, the killings have not stopped. If as a country
we spend so much money on security, with practically no result, where is
the justification for another round of funding. Fund an inept security
apparatus?
“The Zamfara issue is not only inhuman, but unfortunate. This must not
continue and we must tell the Federal Government to do something. The
killings we have witnessed in this country from 2015 till date is
unprecedented and perhaps never seen in the history of our country since
Independence. Are we in a war situation?
“We must stop wasting people’s lives and use the $1 billion for the welfare
of our people in other sectors that will bring result. The All Progressives
Congress-led Federal Government has lost it,” the governor said.
Fayose, who also had a poser for President Muhammadu Buhari, noted that
despite the president’s usual directive of security people assessing the
situation, he challenged the president to tell Nigerians how many culprits
have been arrested or prosecuted.
“It is like President Buhari is living on another planet not to say
country. He is disconnected from the people and the reality on ground. He
does not seem to be in tune with reality. People are tired of lies and
cheap propaganda. His government has failed the nation and he should just
throw in the towel,” he stated.
Fayose also faulted the APC government of claiming glory for projects and
policies put in place by the previous adminstration of President Goodluck
Jonathan.
“The drone that President Jonathan launched some years ago, they now woke
up now to say their government has achieved a feat in that regards. May be
they think the people are fools and have no sense of history. Nigerians
will show them during the election,” he added.
