•It’s
not true, says Speaker
Insecurity has forced top Yobe State government officials to
relocate from Damturu, the State capital, to neighbouring Jigawa State, Niger
State Governor Babangida Aliyu said yesterday.
The governor spoke in Abuja during the late Sir Ahmadu Bello
Memorial Foundation lecture series in Abuja.
Aliyu, who is also the chair of the Northern State Governors
Forum, urged the North to stand firm against terrorism.
He said: “North must stand up against terrorism because of
investing in the region.
“The (insecurity) situation has reached a situation whereby
members of the state Executive Council in Yobe now run away to nearby Jigawa
State for their safety. What is happening is very scary.”
He added: The implication is that “those who are after us have
defeated us and have taken over, what is the best way out and how do we address
this situation because if the government institution is relocating then it
means nobody is safe. We must stand up and say no more to terrorism in northern
Nigeria.
“We must tell the government what to do and many of us have
access to government.
“ Don’t say my state does not have problem, you are in the
middle of the problem and you must wake up and assist so that it won’t continue
and we must appreciate that and I believe also that this guided Sardauna in
making sure that he did not discriminate in terms of institutions or in terms
of religion. He regarded people by what they can do to the transformation of
the local community.
“This is indeed a moment of sober reflection for all of us; a
moment that we should ponder to find out where we got it wrong almost a century
after Sardauna left us and how it was possible for one person(the Premier) to
achieve so much for the entire Northern Region and to unite the people to live
in peace and harmony, while providing quality leadership.”
In those years, he said security of lives and property was
almost taken for granted as people went about their normal lives without any
hindrance.
“In the north (then), murder, kidnappings and extreme
criminality were abomination,” he added.
He said history would forever be kind to the late Sardauna, who
he described as a colossus, a quintessential philanthropist and a selfless and
revolutionary aristocrat and humanist.
“This is indeed a moment of sober reflection for all of us to
ponder and find out where we got it all wrong almost half a century after
Sarduna left us and how it was possible for one person to achieve so much for
the entire northern region and to unite the people to live in peace and harmony
while providing quality leadership,” he said.
But Speaker of Yobe state House Assembly Adamu Dala Dogo,
described the statement credited to Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu that
Yobe state government officials have fled to Jigawa state as careless, reckless
and immature.
“I am very disappointed with Governor Babangida Aliyu for making
such careless, reckless and immature comments based on a newspaper report which
is not true.
Governor Aliyu as the chairman of Northern Governors Forum
should have called his colleague Ibrahim Gaidam (of Yobe) to clarify things
before making such sweeping statements in the public.
“In the first instance, Governor Aliyu cannot differentiate
between Jigawa and Kano State because that purported report said Kano but
Governor Aliyu said Jigawa. In any case, I challenge Governor Aliyu and any
body to come to Yobe and take a roll call of all government officials in the
state. Everyone is on ground.
“All the members of the state House of Assembly are around. All
activities in the state are moving smoothly, nothing is grounded. I am speaking
from my house in Damaturu”, the Speaker said on the telephone.
The Speaker added: “come to my house right now and see all my
children with my wives. I am right in my house with my children”.
Source:
The Nation
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