Ebun Francis
Femi Adesina, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, today said President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to intervene in the the ongoing violence in southern Kaduna because the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is handling the crisis. Mr Adesina made the disclosure while appearing on Channels Television Sunrise Daily programme on Monday.
At least six persons were killed in Goska village, Jema’a local Government Area on Christmas day. The killings, by suspected herdsmen, occurred despite Jema’a and two other local governments – Kaura and Zango Kataf – being under a 24-hour curfew.
Mr. Adesina, invoking Nigeria’s Federal Structure said there was no need for Mr. Buhari to speak since Mr. El-Rufai is “on top of the matter.”
According to him, “You don’t have to hear from the president on that matter. When it pays us, we talk about federalism and true federalism; yet you want the president and presidency to talk about everything.” “when a thing like this happens in a state, there is a chief security officer and he is supposed to be on top of the matter.
“Governor El-Rufai Rufai was at the villa on Thursday to brief the president, so why should the president then be talking about it?
“True federalism is the governor should be in charge and he is in charge of it,” he said.
The killings in Southern Kaduna are suspected to be due to violence between the locals and migrating Fulani herdsmen and Adesina believes that local authorities must play a crucial role in stopping the violence.
“The federal government has roles to play but not as much as the state and local governments,” he said.