Insecurity: Don’t transfer your responsibility to state governors, Wike tells Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has been told not to shift his responsibility of securing lives and property to state governors.

Mr Buhari had last week explained how he chased away two state governors from the South-West geo-political zone who visited him to complain about the rising state of insecurity in their respective domains.

Two governors from the South-west came to tell me that the cattle rearers in some of the forests are killing farmers while their cattle are eating their crops,” Mr Buhari said while granting an interview to Arise Television. “I told them you campaigned to be elected and you are elected. I told them go (to) back and sought out themselves.”

Although no name was mentioned checks show that he was referring to Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State who visited him late January to complain about the menace of violent herdsmen in their domains.

Reacting in a statement by his spokesman Kelvin Ebiri on Tuesday, Mr Wike wondered why state governors who have no power to appoint service chiefs should now be taking responsibility of the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

“Mr President, you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor said. “You appoint Inspector-General of Police, you appoint the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, the Commissioners of Police, Director of Department of State Service, and other heads of security.”

“Which one do we appoint? How can people appointed by Mr President be under me?” he queried.

The Rivers governor also berated the president who, according to him, was not only elected to borrow funds but to also tackle worsening security situation in the country.

“It is not only to borrow money for Nigeria that you’re in charge. You must, also, be in charge of other things including security. Who signed order 10? Is it the governors?” he asked.