State of emergency in Kaduna, Bauchi if…Jonathan

Posted by admin Bauchi, Kaduna, Latest Politics Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

OTUOKE – PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has indicated that unless the security situation in Kaduna and Bauchi states, where elections were earlier postponed, improves to the extent that election holds on April 28, it may be necessary to declare the dreaded state of emergency in the affected states.

President Jonathan however added a caveat that it eventually a state of emergency is declared the governors of the affected states will not be removed rather every government expenditure will be stopped except for security.

Fielding questions from correspondents after casting his vote in his native home, Otuoke, the President however stated that government is doing everything possible to avoid and prevent the situation from getting to the level of high insecurity that would warrant a state of emergency.

He warned that should government efforts in this direction fail to yield maximum result to the extent that election fails to hold as rescheduled, then he will be constrained to impose an emergency rule in those states.

“There maybe two reasons why people are talking about state of emergency. Either because the situation is still so bad or alternatively if by 29th of this month we are unable to conduct election in any state, then by law you can’t conduct any election in any state again until after inauguration because we need 30 days, in that case we have no choice than to declare state of emergency. But as a President you cannot just rush to declare state of emergency.”, he said.

He pointed that “it should be the last when everything fails because this is the state of emergency that is probably for six months or even if it is for three months, this means there will be three months of stagnation, we cannot just rush into doing that, that is why we deferred the election for Kaduna, Bauchi till Thursday”.

According to him, outcome of today election would determine government’s direction, saying that “let’s finish the election, let’s see what happens across the country.

Let us also study the situation in Kaduna and Bauchi and let us know if we move more security personnel to the States and know whether we can do the elections or not”.

He explained that “state of emergency is not the best option except if we can do the election. But definitely we will do the election, state of emergency is not the best option but if we cannot, well we can consider that but it is not the best option. Let us observe what will happen today first before the state of emergency”.

-Vanguardwp_posts