By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The controversial Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has opined that only Governors from the oil-rich states in Nigeria have immense financial resources to influence security agencies to work for them.
Speaking on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily on Monday, he also acknowledged that although governors are the Chief Security Officer of their states, they don’t have the power to command any of the security agencies within their domain.
El-Rufai who was speaking on the state of insecurity in Nigeria as it concerns Kaduna state argued that it is not true that governors use the security agencies to their advantage during the elections but will not use same to secure their people.
Said he: “Only Governors from the oil-rich states has the huge resources to influence security agencies. Kaduna has no such immense financial resources to influence security agencies.
“In fact, I can’t command the Commissioner of Police in my state to go after the bandits, no. The CP will have to go through the Zonal Command to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and if the IGP feels the operation will not harmful, he will decline to act”.
El-Rufai insisted that civil matters or elections duties are quite different from fighting bandits and other criminal elements, pointing out that state governors are helpless in the fight against insurgency as they have to rely on the federal government for intervention.
According to him: “some state Governors especially my colleagues from oil-rich states have enough resources to influence security agencies to get what they want. I can tell you that Kaduna state has no money like the governors of the oil-rich states who have the money to influence security agencies”.
Reminded that even the Governor of Rivers state, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike had said several times that Governors are in the true sense not the Chief Security Officer of their states because they don’t control the security agencies within their domain, El-Rufai simply smiled and parried the question.
Meanwhile, the Governor disclosed that insecurity in Kaduna state and in the North will soon become a thing of the past following the renewed vigour the Nigerian Army and Police are bombarding the enclaves of the bandits.
“I am optimistic that with current onslaught on the bandits by the army and police they will soon be defeat once and for all. The pressure is on them and I am certain that they will be eliminated soon”, El-Rufai concluded.
