FG alone can’t solve insecurity – Maku

Posted by admin Latest Politics Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, insists the Federal Government alone cannot successfully address the security challenges facing the country.

Speaking during a Citizens Forum in Ilorin on Thursday to mark the end of the National Good Governance Tour in Kwara State, the minister said to address the security challenges, there was the need for collaborative efforts.

He urged traditional rulers to ensure the safety of lives and property in their areas.

Maku said, “No development can take place in atmosphere of insecurity.That is why I’m worried about the North because we are far behind.

“We need to work harder for the security of lives and property in the country. If we do not to this, we will not be able to achieve the objectives of accelerated development.

“We therefore solicit the cooperation of traditional rulers working with local government chairmen and the communities under the leadership of the governor to secure every state.

“The challenges we face in the North are challenges that can only be solved in a cooperative approach and this is the what the Federal Government is doing with the governors.”

The minister lamented that corruption had permeated all segments of the Nigerian system, calling for a national reorientation.

He regretted that many public officials were under intense pressure from their communities to splash cash, saying this had contributed to corrupt practices in the country.

Maku said, “In the country we have a major issue with proper management of resources. That issue cuts a across all sectors, even the private sector. Corruption is something that the country must defeat because so long as resources are not properly utilised, we cannot realise the objectives of government’s investments.”

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said insecurity was not peculiar to Nigeria.

However, he said the country must surmount its security challenges. Ahmed identified poverty and corruption as the major challenges confronting the country.

The governor said, “We should know that we have a common enemy and they are poverty and corruption. We must put our hands together and fight them.

“When we talk of corruption, people keep looking at those in government, governors, commissioners, ministerswp_posts