By Maryam Zakari
A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, has said there is a direct link between poverty and insecurity in Nigeria, adding that until the Federal Government tackles the issue of poverty, not much would be achieved in the fight against the insecurity bedeviling the nation.
Speaking on a Liberty TV current affairs programme: “State of the Union“, Wadada, who holds the traditional title ofSarkin-YakinKeffi, said once people have a source of livelihood they would have no time to get involved in crime.
The former lawmaker, who represented Keffi/Kokona/Karu Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State, further stated that Nigeria, more than ever before, needs to be re-structured so that every State can use the available resources within its region to develop its State and by extension the rest of the country.
Wadada, who is presently the chairman of Puegeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd, (PAN), lamented the situation whereby some State governments always have to come to Abuja every month to receive their Federal Accounts Allocation Committe, (FAAC), payments, which according to him, in most cases is never enough to pay their staff salaries, let alone carry out other projects for the citizens.
He further opined that since every State is endowed with abundant resources, it will be wise to allow States to explore and utilise the resources in their domain.
He maintained that, with the amount of natural and human resources available to Nigeria, it has no business grappling with poverty.
Wadada was also a one-time governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Nasarawa State in 2019 and later chaired the Presidential and Governorship Campaign Council for the State.
