Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has condemned the alleged refusal of the Federal Government to strengthen the security of the states of the federation.
Governor Akeredolu believed that the Federal Government was playing the ostrich by abandoning states to their fates concerning the security of lives and property of the people but rather empowering some private security outfits in the country.
The governor stated this in a statement he issued through his Chief Press Secretary on Wednesday, in reaction to the recent purported award of contracts by the Federal Government to some private security outfits to protect the pipelines from being vandalised.
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Governor Akeredolu, who is Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, said the action of the Federal Government has implied that it permitted private security outfits “to bear heavy assault weapons while denying the same privilege to the states, the federating units,” to tackle insecurity.
The statement read in part, “The news concerning the purported award of pipeline contracts to some individuals and private organisations by the Federal Government has been unsettling. More disquieting is the barely disguised hostility displayed against either the idea or the actual establishment of security outfits by some State Governments to fill the widening gaps in the scope of security coverage noticeable nationally.
“The Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser, has been consistent in its refusal to accede to the request by some states in the Federation to strengthen the complementary initiatives adopted to protect lives and property.
“This is done in spite of the knowledge that the very issues which necessitated the creation of these outfits support providing adequate weaponry.
“All attempts to persuade the Federal Government to look critically into the current security architecture have been rebuffed despite the manifest fundamental defects engendered by over-centralisation.
“It is, therefore, shocking to read that the Federal Government has maintained the award of the contract to ‘protect’ the country’s pipeline from vandals to private organisations.
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“This story, if true, leaves a sour taste in the mouth. The NSA will, obviously, not advise the President to approve the award of a contract of such magnitude if the operators have not displayed sufficient capacity to checkmate the criminal activities of equally powerful groups.
“Consequently, it is safe to conclude that the Federal Government has, impliedly, permitted non-state actors to bear heavy assault weapons while denying the same privilege to the states, the federating units.”