Members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly yesterday accused Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of importing mercenaries into the state to cause the current destruction of lives and property in some Eggon communities.
They accused him of fraternising with Fulani herdsmen, who are allegedly behind the mayhem, which has claimed about 103 lives in the last two weeks.
According to the lawmakers, Governor Al-Makura was using the state resources to sponsor mercenaries in the raging crisis in the Northern and Southern senatorial zones of the state.
Consequently, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Security, Mohammed Baba Ibaku, told journalists in Lafia, the state capital yesterday that the lawmakers would not honour the invitation extended to them by the governor to attend a security summit billed for today in Lafia.
Governor Al-Makura had summoned a meeting of stakeholders including former Governor Aliyu Akwe Doma, Mr. Labaran Maku, Minister of Information, to find lasting peace to the communal crisis rocking some parts of the state.
Ibaku who represents Udege/Loko constituency averred that the lawmakers’ resolve to shun the peace and security meeting became necessary because the governor had refused to honour the House resolutions on security which would have helped to check incessant clashes in the state.
According to him, the governor had told the Assembly to steer clear of security issues and concentrate on the business of lawmaking.
Ibaku said: “The House has resolved categorically that we are not going to
attend that meeting, the governor planned, incubated and hatched
crisis, so you cannot impregnate a woman and denied the child. Let him face it.’’
He alleged that the renewed crises began barely three days after Governor Al-Makura held a meeting with the Fulani and appointed some of them as his advisers apart from the huge sum of money he gave them and “so if he appointed them to advise him on how to kill the people of Nasarawa State and destroy their property, then it means they (Fulani) are up to their task, so the governor should not come and be calling for peace summit today,” Ibaku stated.
Ibaku averred that rather than attend peace and security meeting, the lawmakers would rather go to their constituents to preach peace.
He blamed the crisis on non-implementation of the Anti-thuggery Bill passed by the House, alleging that the governor refused to give assent to it, which according to him, could have prevented unnecessary crises in the state.
The Assembly spokesman berated the state commissioner of police, Idris Ibrahim, for restricting himself to the Government House since his assumption of office in the state, pointing out that he had never paid a familiarisation visit to the House as was the case with other CPs who had served in the state.