The National Councilors Forum of Nigeria has called on the federal government to involve them in grassroots security architecture.
Secretary-General of the forum, Mr Soji Adesekun, made the plea while briefing newsmen at the venue of eighth National Conference/Convention and Election of new EXCOS in Abuja, on Thursday.
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He said the insecurity currently bedeviling the country is rooted from the local societies, adding that since councilors are the closest government officials to local people, they must be involved in the effort of achieving lasting peace in the country.
“We know the troublemakers in the society and as councilors, we are the representatives of people at the grassroots and we have role to play in ensuring that the country is safe for everyone to cohabit.”
“You don’t expect a governor to know the troublemakers at the local level; it’s we the representatives of people in our respective localities that can identify them and tell you the actual security problem. But, the executives don’t allow us to function,” he said.
He reiterated the demand for local government autonomy towards better governance in rural communities.
“Now the salary of a councilor can’t even feed his family and many people are coming to us for help.”
Also speaking, the Director, institute for Legislative Studies of University of Abuja, Professor Sheriff Ghali, said to end insecurity in Nigeria, technology must be deployed to secure towns and village where killings and destructions are being carried out by criminals in the country.
