Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has described as illegal and unconstitutional the attempt by Rivers State Police Commissioner to act like a governor.
Aliyu said the recent crisis in Rivers can be traced to the attempt by the police commissioner to hijack the political structure of the state.
“A situation whereby the Police Commissioner is usurping the powers of the state governor is unacceptable,” he said while receiving the Commissioner for Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Ambassador Zubairu Dada in Minna.
Speaking further, he said: “There is too much money at the centre for the federal government to spend and that is why they are creating problems for the states. The Federal government has no business in the provision of health, water, agriculture and education.
“You see what is happening in Rivers State. A Commissioner of Police has now become the Governor of Rivers State. Is that the image we want the world to look out to? And then, many of us who know what has been happening in Rivers State knows that even if you have the basis of good economy, it could be spoilt by politics.
“Let us reduce power at the centre and then dissolve some of the responsibilities down to federating units and to local governments. Look at some of the things we are arguing about the constitution, so long as the centre is strong, whether you make it one tenure or this and that, you will still have the same struggles happening. Reduce the struggle at the centre and if we have that principle, then we will be able to understand what percentage that should go to the three tiers of government.
“Once Presidents are elected, they do not want to leave the office, whether there was an agreement or not and because of that, the individual may want to go but their own people will say ‘no this is our time’ because there is too much money at the centre, and in addition, if you look at the budget from 1999 till date, which budget has succeeded 60% with the money on ground?
“Nigeria is in a bad shape. People close to the presidency will always defer but there is a problem in the system. A nation where oil thieves are identified and nothing is done about it is horrible. Nobody knows the amount of oil the country produces neither is the amount gotten from it known because it is the NNPC that decides what to declare without being questioned.
“The way out is very clear. The federal government should not take more than 40 per cent, while the states should also be allocated with 35 percent and local governments should have 25 per cent allocation from the federation account.
