Lamido, PRP Criticize Northern Governments Over US Security Conference

Sule Lamido

Sule Lamido criticizes northern governors for convening a summit in the US on peace and security.

Former Jigawa state governor Sule Lamido has chastised several northern governors for visiting the US for a security summit.

A few of governors from the north-west and north-central zones were invited to a two-day symposium on peace and security in northern Nigeria by the US Institute of Peace.

The dates of the event were April 23–25.

Among the governors in attendance were Umar Bago, the governor of Niger, and Dikko Radda, the governor of Katsina.

Sule Lamido stated in a Facebook post on Saturday that the governors had demonstrated their lack of familiarity with the nation's constitution.

The former governor said security is solely the responsibility of the federal government because it is on the executive-legislative list.

He said: “Their concern, commendable as it were, ended up exposing their ignorance at understanding the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the very instrument which gave them the legitimacy and the authority to be Governors.

“If the Governors had traveled to the US to engage on how to boost agriculture or health issues or any other pressing local problems listed on the Concurrent List of our Constitution, this could be quite understandable! But to engage on issues which are on the Exclusive Legislative List such as Security says a lot about the substance they are made of.”

Lamido said there are other issues which are related to security that the governors could address.

“Most urban towns in their States lack potable drinking water; refuse dumps have taken over some streets; all these have precipitous Security health hazards,” he said.

“Our children attend primary schools under the trees and where there are built classes, they take their lessons sitting on the floor, yet the Security implications of this can not be discerned by their Excellencies.

“Deliberate and harshly induced poverty by unplanned government policies have made citizens lose their esteem, honor and self-worth by lining up scrambling to collect palliative from patronizing and condescending leaders yet the Insecurity of this is of no worry or concern to them.”

“But I blame the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NIA for failing to properly guide the Governors for this folly.”