Herdsmen killings: Gov. Okowa urges FG enact appropriate laws

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa said yesterday that the menace of herdsmen will continue to be a challenging stress on state governments unless federal government comes up with appropriate laws to nip it in the bud.

Okowa at a town hall meeting with the people of Uvwie local government area at the PTI Conference Center, Effurun, wondered why some group from a section of the country will be free to carry AK 47 rifles to kill with impunity while others are not allowed.

“We are aware that the National House of Assembly is doing it’s best, but we know that this has gone beyond legislation. We have lived with herdsmen before but what we are experiencing today is not what we used to see in past and we are very worried about it.

“The legislation we are trying to put in place will soon come. But I will let you that we do not have a strong policy because federal government needs to find appropriate strategies as they have full control of the security agencies. We are trying our best to work with them but there are limits” Okowa stated.

He added that, “However, there are some of these herdsmen who are very good. They identify themselves with the community they reside in and they have been very peaceful. The problem we have is with the ones carrying arms.

“They use these arms to not only destroy our crops but also use them to engage in other crimes. We have been working with the Commissioner of Police and other security agencies to tackle the issue”

On mounting salaries arrears of local government workers, the governor restated that his administration was not owing local council workers, adding that it was the responsibility of the federal government to pay council workers.

“I have sworn to continue to speak the truth to our people. We have the federal, state and local council areas. I will help when there is moneybut when local government workers begin to see that their salaries comes from the state, that is not true. The only thing that connects us is the money that comes from the federal allocation. It is called Federal Allocation Accounts, FAAC, meeting.

“In that meeting the money that comes to the state and the one that comes to local government is also defined. And what we do as a state government is to provide ten percent of our internally generated funds to the local governments.”

On cultism being experienced in the Primary and secondary schools, governor Okowa blamed it on family and society, noting that parents have failed in their responsibilities to take care of their children.

Present on the occasion were Okowa’s deputy, Kingsley Otuaro, Speaker of the state, Sheriff Oborevwore, Secretary to the State Government, Ovie Festus Agas among others.

The governor thanked the Uvwie local people for maintaining the existing peace, promising to extend more development to them if they continue to sustain the peace.