Govs are dictators – Danjuma

Former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus
Yakubu Danjuma (rtd), has said that governors in the country have turned
themselves into “sole administrators,” exercising too much power in determining
what happens in the socio-political affairs of the nation.

Danjuma, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at a
conference and award ceremony organised by Leadership Newspapers Group,
explained that because of the power wielded by the governors, they decide
whoever gets a position, including the presidency.

The former minister, lamented that governors abuse
such powers by emasculating other public office holders to do their biddings.

He said: “The question of concentration of power is
not at the centre but at the states level. Almost all the governors are sole
administrators. The first thing they do when they come into power is to pocket
the National Assembly.”

He added that the governors also emasculate the
judiciary and sack local government chairmen at will before proceeding to
nominate candidates for ministerial slots from their states.

Danjuma said there is nobody who could successfully
aspire for the presidency without the full backing of the governors.

Danjuma also explained that the challenges of
moving the nation forward and solving its multifaceted problems have
overwhelmed the government, thus it could not solve them alone.

He said with the way things are going in the
country and the terrifying level of poverty, well meaning citizens have to play
their part as “government does not have answer to our country’s problems,”