By Abdul Ahmad Burra

The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria said that it is disturbed by the negative trend of the menace of insecurity in the nation.

This is disclosed by the Chairman of the Conference and Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y Suleiman during the opening ceremony of the Conference’s general meeting themed; The Menace of Insecurity in the Country and the Role of State Assemblies to Restore Peace and Order which takes place at Presidential Lodge, Muhammadu Buhari House, Katsina, today.

He stated that insecurity in the country today has assumed a disturbing dimension and hence constituted a serious threat not only to the economic growth and development but also to the peace and unity of the nation, therefore, all hands must be on deck to fight the menace for the good of the nation.

“The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, is an umbrella body for the Rt Hon Speakers of the thirty-six state Houses of Assembly in Nigeria set up to, among other things, provide a forum for Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly to discuss and proffer solutions to issues and problems affecting the Conference and its members in particular and the nation in general.

“We have therefore convened this meeting to discuss and proffer solutions to this problem within our constitutional mandate. And we hope legislative frameworks at the sub-national level adopted will go a long way to compliment the efforts of the Federal Government to check the menace of insecurity in the country.” The Chairman explained.

Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y Suleiman also acknowledged the efforts and deep commitment of Governor Masari toward ridding Katsina state of every form of criminality with the support and cooperation of the Katsina State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Tasiu Musa Maigari.

He urged the Governor and his colleagues in the parliament to continue supporting and cooperating with each other in the fight against insecurity and good governance in the State.

The Chairman noted that the efficiency and effectiveness with which the legislative arm can carry out its constitutional mandate depends largely on how financial autonomous the arm is as provided by the 4th Alteration to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which stated that financial autonomy for both the state legislature and judiciary is very germane for good governance in our country.

While acknowledging and commending the efforts and passion of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in this regard in general and the individual governors that have assented to Fund Management Bills in their respective states in particular, he called on other state governors to give assents to the noble Bill for effective and efficient implementation of financial autonomy across the nation.

In his welcome address, the Speaker of Katsina State House of Assembly and Vice Chairman Northwest Zone of the Conference, Rt. Hon. Tasiu Maigari expressed the appreciation of the people of Katsina for the opportunity to host the third quarter general meeting of the Conference which he said will help the State greatly as one of the states being hit by insecurity.

According to him, the meeting will provide them an avenue to discuss the role states legislature will play in tackling insecurity and strengthening of democracy in the country.

He pointed out that exemplary leadership of Governor Aminu Bello Masari, cooperation mutual trust and respect between the legislative and executive arms in the the State which result in strong partnership to end security problems and excellent service delivery in the State.

Delivering keynote address, Governor Aminu Bello Masari commended the Speakers for choosing Katsina State to hold the very important meeting.

Governor Masari who urged the Federal Government to declare State of emergency on security in the country to restore peace and order in the country, explained that the Katsina State Government with cooperation of the State Assembly has provided legal framework and restructured existing ones, among other measures, to curb insecurity in the State.

The Governor highlighted that through the new laws, security committees are created to provide security agencies with useful information, collaborate with security agencies for the maintenance of law and order among other functions and reviewed the power and role of traditional rulers in the maintenance of law and order in their various domains.