PDP CHIEFTAIN CHARGES GOVTS ON SECURITY AT GRASSROOTS

ENUGU - A chieftain of the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State, Chief Patrick Nnaji, has urged governments at all level and security agencies to give priority to security at the grassroots as a way of tackling the security challenges in the nation.

He noted that insecurity had remained high because governments,  both past and present had laid emphasis on security at the urban areas leaving the rural areas.

Nnaji said it was  in rural areas that crimes were planned before execution  in urban areas.

At a briefing in Enugu, Nnaji said previous efforts at combating crimes would fail because of the gap between  administrations at the grassroots and the people.

He tasked the council chairmen to partner with government at the centre and state for effective security.

Nnaji, who cited the incursion by some members of the Boko Haram sect,  insisted that their activities would have been curtailed, if the local government chairmen had lived up to their responsibilities, stressing that those behind the activities of the group were not invincible.

He said: 'That is why I will always advocate for the retention of the local government system in Nigeria because through it, the government is brought closer to the people.

'The missing link here is the fact that most of the council chairmen forget their responsibilities and  run policies that would make the people stay away from government.

'When this kind of gap is created, the masses resort   to anything to survive; that is why today, there is insecurity everywhere because the people cannot feel the government. They do not have any hope any longer in their government.'