Nigeria's Golden Jubilee: If I were Prof. Jega - Sarkin Fadar Kano
KANO, Oct 1, (THEWILL) - "IF I were Professor Attahiru Jega, I will decentralize the conduct of the election in 2011 into six geo-political zones of the country within a period of six weeks," Alhaji Sule Gaya has said.
Airing this view in an interview with THEWILL at his residence, in Kano city, Alhaji Gaya, the Sarkin Fadar Kano said the measure would ensure the smooth conduct of the election devoid of fear of insufficient security personnel and the maximum utilization of INEC staff to guarantee free and fair election.
"I have the fear of successfully conducting a free and fair election if it is to be conducted in one day, in a situation where INEC is understaffed and the police are under equipped," said Gaya.
Speaking on the 50th anniversary of Nigeria's independence, the former Minister for Local Government Affairs in the First Republic, said, "we only celebrate the number of years."
He said the essential thing for a government to achieve is to ensure the security of lives and properties of its citizens, which he lamented the present government has fallen short of.
He explained that in the previous governments, security was better unlike now where robbery on our highways are the order of the day and the fear of being attacked in people’s own homes by a gang of robbers is on the increase.
The Sarkin Fada of Kano congratulated the present government in the areas of education, health and road networks, as there are more schools and hospitals now unlike in those days when people had to travel to Kaduna through Funtua.
He called on grassroots politicians to perform well in every position they find themselves, saying that late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi performed creditably well when he was less than 30 years of age.
He also cautioned INEC against the use of "borrowed" staff in the conduct of the 2011 election for fear of compromising the polls.
Alhaji Gaya challenged INEC commissioners and executives to be honest in the discharge of their responsibilities. The First Republic minister also wished Nigerians a prosperous next 50 years where the security of lives and property of citizens will be guaranteed.