The 36 Speakers of the Houses of Assembly, under the Conference of Nigerian Speakers, have met in Katsina to discuss and proffer solutions to the lingering security challenges in the country.
The conference was the third quarterly meeting of the speakers held on Saturday in the Katsina capital.
The Chairman of the conference, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman, while addressing members, described insecurity as constituted a serious threat to the country.
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Suleiman, who is also the Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, said the threat was not only affecting the economic growth and development of the country, but also its peace and unity.
He said: “Insecurity in our country today has assumed a disturbing dimension and constitutes a serious threat not only to the economic growth and development but also to the peace and unity of the nation.
“This is the time, therefore, that all hands must be on deck to fight the menace of insecurity for the good of our nation.
“As representatives of the people at the grassroots, we are indeed worried and disturbed by the negative trend of the menace of insecurity in the nation.
“We convened this meeting to discuss and proffer solutions to this problem within our constitutional mandate.
“And we hope that the legislative frameworks at the sub-national level adopted will go a long way to complement the efforts of the Federal Government to check insecurity in the country.” Suleiman said.
He called on state governors to grant financial autonomy to both the state Houses of Assembly and the judicial arm of government, to enhance good governance in the country.
In his remarks, Gov. Aminu Masari of Katisa state, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security in the nation.
Masari, who said that the security agencies were doing their best in tackling insecurity nationwide, urged the federal government to adopt more measures to resolve the problem.
The governor added that the declaration of a state of emergency on security would tackle the security challenges, particularly banditry and insurgency in Katsina and other states of the federation.
“The Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on the nation’s security.
“Our major problem in Katsina state is the security challenges facing us in parts of the state.
“With support from the Katsina State House of Assembly, some legal framework has been put in place, while existing ones were restructured in order to address the security challenges.” Masari said. (NAN)