Member representing Ukwa East/West Federal Constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives, Mr. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, on Sunday called for the imposition of a “full emergency rule” in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
Nkem-Obonta, who is a lawyer, explained that the full emergency rule implied suspending the governors of the affected states and other democratic structures like the House of Assembly to give way for the military to assume total control of the administration of the states during the emergency period.
The lawmaker noted that so long as there was conflict of interest between the governors and the military, the ongoing war against insurgency would continue to drag without much success.
He made this known in a parley with reporters in Abuja as the current emergency rule gets closer to its May 19 expiry date.
Nkem-Abonta, who was elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to “go full blast”.
He faulted the existing emergency rule in the three North-East states, saying it still empowered the governors as the chief security officers of their respective states.
He explained that a situation where the governor as chief security officer and the commanders of the Joint Task Force fighting the insurgents gave conflicting orders, there would be no progress.
“We should not fight insecurity with kid gloves as we have been doing”, he said.
“We should go full blast to contain insurgency. The governors are still the chief security officers in their states. How can there be two conflicting orders in a state of emergency?
“Let the military take full control; dismantle certain institutions or keep them in the cooler till normalcy is restored.
“The governors, the state Houses of Assembly have to go so that military tactics will not be disclosed to anybody but the military administrator alone.
“I join those who say let there be full emergency rule”, Nkem-Abonta declared.
The lawmaker also commented on the delayed passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill and the subsidy on petroleum products.
He alleged that “certain interests” were against the PIB, a reason it had not yet been passed by the National Assembly.
