SPECIAL ADDRESS BY H.E ALH. ABDULLAHI ADAMU (SARKIN YAKIN KEFFI) On the creation of additonal Local Government Area

Righting the injustice in local government creation SPECIAL ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, ALH. ABDULLAHI ADAMU (SARKIN YAKIN KEFFI) THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA STATE TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON THE CREATION OF NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS IN NASARAWA STATE ON WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 17, 2001. Honourable Speaker and members of Nasarawa State House of Assembly. I am delighted to address you on this very historic day in the life of our administration, and in the life of our young and promising state on the long awaited desire of the good people of Nasarawa State for the creation of new local government areas. Ever before Nasarawa State was created out of the old Plateau State, and especially after its creation, it became patently clear and obvious that compared to other parts of the federation, our people were unjustly treated in the various local government creation exercises carried out in this country since 1976. Because the process of local government creation under the military was ruled by fiat and without adequate representation and objective guidelines, it was subject to undue influence. And because the communities that came to constitute Nasarawa State were not visible in any of the military regimes that created local governments, our people were short-changed. The ultimate result is the present predicament in which our state, which has such a large landmass, is densely populated, and is blessed with a huge economic potential, has about the least representation in the country in terms of local governments. The creation of new districts which this administration undertook, and the current initiative to create additional local governments are geared towards freeing our communities to pursue their aspirations and to take responsibility for their own future. This ugly situation has not only denied our people fair representation and access to opportunities, it has denied us development at the grassroots because government has been very remote from the people. This situation has over the years increased our people’s feeling of alienation and disillusionment. It is therefore not surprising that everywhere I went in the course my campaign for the office of Governor, I was overwhelmed by the avalanche of requests for the creation of new local governments. Since democracy is about the people’s aspirations for justice, for development, and for participation, I promised to meet their aspirations for new local governments if elected into office. This was a covenant between our people and me. Towards the end of our second year in office the entire members of the executive and legislative arms of government undertook an extensive tour of all the local government areas to appraise our mid-term performance, to hear the people’s views about our work, and to listen to their expectations of us. The tour turned out to be a barometer for measuring the deep-seated aspirations of our people for the creation of new local governments. Our people did not only come out en-masse to welcome us everywhere we went, they seized every opportunity to bombard us with their requests and entreaties for the creation of new local governments. Our entourage was almost held to ransom in most constituencies by pressures and lobbies for the creation of local governments. It is therefore very clear that our people not only want new local governments, they look forward to both arms of government to fulfil their aspirations. We all stand before the court of history. We must work in close partnership to deliver on this historic project because its impact on the future of our people will be far-reaching and significant. Our political adversaries understand this and have been working round the clock to create unfavourable atmosphere in order to stop us from making this history. Our adversaries have tried to stir sporadic crises at every turn to distract and prevent this administration from undertaking the historic promise to create new local governments. Our adversaries