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Fresh bomb scare in Awka
•Southern govs demand compensation
FELIX UKA, Awka, JUSTUS NWAKANMA, Lagos and VINCENT ADEKOYE,
Benin
THOUGH the bombs planted in Anambra
State Government House, Awka, have been detonated, fear of fresh bomb explosions
has gripped citizens of the state even as the two warning factions have refused
to sheathe their swords.
Saturday Champion gathered in Awka that people now go
about their business visibly fearful, because to them, the introduction of
lethal weapons like bombs to the lingering political feud in the state portends
a greater danger. Our reporter observed that buildings were being avoided by
people even as people gathered in groups discussing the violence that now rocks
the otherwise peaceful state.
Amid the apprehension, the Senior Special Assistant to
Anambra State Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Fred Chukwuelobe has demanded
the arrest of perpetrators of the violence insisting that their arrest is the
only way to stem the tide of violence in the state.
He spoke while reacting to Wednesday’s
explosion at the Governor’s Lodge.
"The police should arrest the culprits and
sponsors of the Nov. 10-12 mayhem; if they don’t, these hoodlums and their few
but powerfully connected sponsors will continue to harass our innocent citizens"
he said.
Meanwhile, moral support came the way of
embattled Anambra State governor, Dr. Chris Ngige, yesterday, as Southern
governors rose from their 8th summit in Benin Edo State advocating a special
assistance for the state from the Federal Government.
In a communique issued after the meeting
attended by 15 governors and two deputies of southern states, the summit said
its firm view is that one of the major factors responsible for the wide-spread
security lapses in the country is the inability of the elected governors to have
full control of the security operatives in their respective states.
"The recent experience of governor of
Anambra State which was condemned in its entirety has further justified the long
drawn agitation for state police or constitutional amendments that would make
the Commissioner of Police report to the governors in their respective states
who are the Chief Security Officers," it noted.
The summit therefore called on the Federal
Government to give special assistant to the government and people of Anambra
State towards restoring the public property damaged during the riots.
The governors also said there was the need
for the law enforcement agents and security agents to arrest and prosecute all
those that had been identified as culprits/sponsors of the mayhem in the state.
The summit however, had some kind words for the judiciary in Anambra State,
saying it deserves commendation for its positive intervention in the crisis.
While supporting President Olusegun
Obasanjo’s anti-corruption crusade, the governors however frowned at what they
called a "recent sustained and deliberate efforts of the Federal Government
officials to malign elected governors and to suggest that corruption exists only
at states level."
To them, this attitude does not only
discredit government and promote lawlessness among the people, it makes it
impossible for governors to attract foreign investment or to be taken seriously.
On the vexed issue of revenue allocation
formula, the governors observed that a new revenue allocation formula was yet to
be tabled before the National Assembly.
"This had led to a situation in which the
pre-1999 formula was still in use, contrary to the expectation of the
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."
They therefore resolved that efforts
should be made to persuade the president to forward the new proposal to the
National Assembly. The governors also frowned at the use of number of local
government council area as an index for revenue allocation, arguing that this
has been mainly responsible for the clamour for and proliferation of local
governments in Nigeria.
"We are therefore advocating that the
number of local governments should not be used as an index for revenue
allocation henceforth," the communique noted.
The summit expressed the need for all the
states as well as the Federal Government to collectively promote and ensure the
sustenance of democracy and the continued cohesive corporate existence of the
nation."
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