18 April 2014, Abuja – Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has said that power generation and distribution should be decentralised as it was morally and financially wrong for states or private investors to construct power plants, generate and distribute electricity only for such organisations to plough such generated power to the national grid.
It will be recalled that Aliyu had directed 11 delegates representing Niger State at the ongoing National Conference to demand for the control of Hydro Electric Power projects and for the full implementation of the Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), the bill that President Goodluck Jonathan had since signed into law.
Aliyu, who made this known in Minna yesterday, said the passage of the HYPPADEC bill would be the solution to the perennial problems faced by people in the riverine areas of the state.
“It is the solution to the annual problem being faced by people in the riverine areas and flood plains of the three Hydro Electric Dams situated at Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro with another one under construction in Zungeru all in Niger State,” the governor said.
On state police, the conference delegates were asked to support any move that would lead to the devolution of authority to governors for the maintenance of law and order in the state, while modern policing should be put in place.
“The structure of the police should be decentralised in such a way that the state governors are given certain powers to give directive to state Commissioners of Police to address crime and ensure effective policing,” he emphasised.
The stakeholders were however unanimous that “the police should be federally controlled.”
The delegates were asked to canvass for devolution of power, emphasising on empowering the states to fund primary and secondary education, primary health care and agriculture.
The Niger State’s stakeholders also asked the delegates to ask for the institution of a Horizontal Revenue Allocation Formula, which will see all states getting equal amount of 36 per cent of whatever accrued to the federation account.
