Zero allocation may escalate insecurity nationwide- Masari

Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari has warned that the insecurity in the country may be escalated if the Federation Account Allocation Committee fails to share allocations to state and local governments in May.

Masari, who addressed State House reporters in Abuja yesterday after meeting with the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, was responding to the alarm by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that states might get less from the Federation Account next month owing to the huge petrol subsidy payment.

Masara said inability of states and local councils to fund responsibilities might escalate the security crisis in the country.

He said: “Without resources, again, it’s another factor that affects security, you cannot create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the rural communities…It’s with resources state governments and local governments we’ll be able to contain some of these restive youths so that they can be used for better purposes because most of them might be foot soldiers to the bandits.”

He said the security situation in Katsina was still of high concern, but added that his administration was doing everything to control it.

Masara also said a declaration of state of emergency on security could not solve the current insecurity the country.

He noted that the military personnel that would be used to execute such emergency situation were already overstretched.

He appealed to Nigerians to stop politicizing security issues, saying policing the nation at this critical time was everybody’s business.

He said Nigeria must not be allowed to disintegrate as such would mean a major crisis for the entire African continent.