By Faith Awa Maji, Katsina
The Katsina State government on Monday listed how it spent the sum of N7.8 billion since the inception of the current administration on May 29.
Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prof. Badamasi Lawal Charanchi, told journalists in an interactive session in Katsina noting that the government has the responsibility of ensuring security in all nook and cranny of the State.
Charanchi noted that Federal Government’s security initiatives is inadequate to protect live and properties at the grassroot across all the 34 Local Government Areas of the State.
He listed the items government bought to include, arms and ammunition, security vehicles including 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), motorcycles, surveillance cameras and protective gears, among others. “These items were not provided by the Federal Government otherwise it will amount to duplication.
“The questions we should ask are, did we have APCs in the eight most vulnerable LGAs? The answer is, no.
“Does the Federal Government provide security vehicles for the LGAs? The answer is, no.
“The military formations including the police and their vehicles do not belong to the Katsina State government and the Governor does not control over them.
“Did the Federal Government provide Community Watch at the LGAs? Again, the answer is, no”, according to the Commissioner.
Charanchi further noted that part of the security measures being taken to secure Katsina also include the formation of Security Watch into which government has already recruited 150 persons for each LGA and they are currently undergoing training. “Government will also pay allowances to these personnel of the Security Watch.
“All this spending is done to improve security at the LGAs and to support the Federal Government in its efforts at securing the entire State and the country.
“The security vehicles and motorcycles are being distributed across the State but the most vulnerable LGAs will receive more and 10 of the APCs will also go to them. These are some of the strategies government has adopted and it is still doing more to see how we can reverse the issue of insecurity in Katsina.”
The Commissioner described the local government councils in the State, under the leadership of Governor Umar Dikko Radda as autonomous. “When this government came on board, it approved and released the sum of N1.8 billion to the LGAs, based on their requests and submissions, for development projects.
“If money is released to the LGAs as requested by them, which autonomy are you talking about?”, he added.
