The Chairman Senate committee on legislative compliance, Senator Garba Maidoki on Wednesday bemoaned that Nigeria is broke and living on borrowed money.
Maidoki, who represents Kebbi south senatorial district at the 10th Senate noted that some states are owing teachers salaries and other civil servants allowances.
The lawmaker was reacting to the call for state police to tackle the myriad of insecurity challenges across the country.
He said the concept of state police is an excellent idea, but added that he is against it given the level of democracy in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is broke, if you don’t know it, we are living on borrowed money. Where will the money come to finance the State Police? You cannot even finance education, primary education!; and you want to take the money and do state police.
“And if you do state police, what are the likelihood that it will not be like they are controlling INEC, State INEC? If they had given us confidence that they can hold elections where your own people, that you are representing them, you subvert their opinion and their mandate, you give it to whosoever you wish, then what right have you to tell us you can defend them” he asked?
He continued “You see, the concept of State Police is an excellent idea, but given the level of our democracy in Nigeria, I will not support it. Not because the concept is not good. Look at State Independent Electoral Commission, can you tell me one state, even the so-called learned state in the Southwest, where State Independent Electoral Commissions, the Governors allowed them to do their work in the service of their own people?
Commenting further on insecurity in the country, Senator Maidoki lamented that in spite of N500 million monthly contribution to the military by the Kebbi state government, the state is still facing insecurity challenges.
“The Kebbi State Governor told us his contribution to keeping security in Kebbi State as a whole. Monetary wise, to the tune of 500 million monthly. And I was asking the Senate, where is the money we passed for the Army to do their job, what is it for?
“Army now have to wait until the State Governor give them grant before they do their job? That is the question for Nigerians to understand and to know, and it’s sad! We appropriated money for security, and we think that money is big enough to address the problem.
“I cannot understand why Army or any law enforcement agency, The Police, will wait for the governor to give them counterpart funding before they undertake their job. And this is now a norm in Nigeria security system. If the police send a detachment to any constituency, if the Governor didn’t take the bills, they will not send the detachment. We don’t know whether the money we have given them is not sufficient. And if it is not sufficient, none of them came back to the National Assembly and tell us the money you gave us is not sufficient to do their job.
“We have a memorandum of understanding with the Nigeria Security Chiefs, what they were going to deliver at the end of this year. We are waiting to see that the money we give them, they have delivered to their promise” Maidoki added.
