FORMER Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has blamed the Federal Government for the breakdown of security in the State.
This is as he expressed displeasure at the recent statement made by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, ahead of the November 6 Governorship election in the State.
Mr. Malami had said the spate of violence in the State might see the Federal Government declaring State of Emergency just to ensure that the election holds on the scheduled date.
This was criticised by the Anambra State government which pointed out that despite the level of violence witnessed in some Northern States, elections were still held there without any declaration of State of Emergency.
Speaking on the issue in an interview on The Morning Show, an Arise TV programme monitored by our correspondent from Onitsha on Monday, Mr. Obi said the Federal Government shouldn’t be talking about State of Emergency.
According to him, “People in government, when they make statements, should always, first of all, evaluate and think about the implications of their statement to the overall wellbeing of the country.
“People don’t know that the greatest contributors to GDP growth are intangible assets, which is security, law and order, and even the behaviour and statement of the leaders.
“The statement of leaders can actually hurt the place. So leaders must always ensure that their words have always gone through scrutiny.
“That statement from the Attorney General shouldn’t be. More so, he’s the Attorney General of the federation, not of the Federal Government or APC.
“The Federal Government should not talk about a state of emergency. Failure of security in Anambra State is their failure because they are in charge of security. Unless they are saying, they’re going to declare a State of Emergency on the Country.”
BY SUNNY A. DAVID
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