GOVERNORS UNDER FIRE AS BENUE LAWMAKER BLAMES STATE LEADERS FOR NIGERIA’S SECURITY COLLAPSE
Amid rising insecurity across Nigeria, a bold accusation has emerged from the Benue State House of Assembly, where Isaac Ochekliye Agbo, representing Ohimini Constituency, laid the blame squarely at the feet of state governors. At a high-level security summit in Makurdi, Agbo argued that governors are starving local governments of vital funds necessary for community policing and early security interventions.
“Governors receive substantial allocations, yet these funds never trickle down to where they are needed most,” Agbo charged, calling out what he described as deliberate disempowerment of grassroots governance. He lamented that weakened local governments are powerless to confront the criminal activities ravaging communities.
Agbo’s frustration was echoed by other speakers. Security consultant Lazarus Mom praised localized security initiatives in Guma and Katsina-Ala as evidence that empowering communities works, while Terwase Uche of Guma 1 Constituency slammed the state government for alleged mismanagement of security resources. He cited the unfulfilled promises of delivering patrol vehicles and equipment to local authorities as a glaring example of the state’s failures.
The summit revealed a growing consensus: without transparency in security funding and real devolution of power to the local level, insecurity will only worsen.
