The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) AKIDA Executive council in Kaduna State, Mataimaki Tom Maiyashi, ‎has condemned the recent sack of district and village heads in the state by the administration of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai. He described the action as one that is capable of posing a security threat in the state if proactive measures are not put in place.

According to the former Commissioner of Education in the state, the process followed to effect their sack is not correct, noting that the committee constituted were made up of civil servants who had no consultation with the traditional leaders‎ until their report leaked.

The district and village heads he said play a major role in maintaining peace and security in their various domains. He therefore maintained that the decision of the state government to relieve the traditional rulers of their jobs at this time is not a plus to the political party.

“Traditional leaders help to solve the immediate problems and challenges of their people, they interact with them because they live with them. If sacking them was due to lack of money to pay their salaries according to the state government, it is important to note that the role they play in maintaining law and order within their domain is far more than what they are paid as salaries and the state government will pay more if there are security challenges, so why paying more when you can pay less by keeping them.

“The most senior district‎ or village head may not take home more than N50,000 as salary at the end of the month and some of them don’t live on their salaries. So, government should do a capacity ‎assessment of their roles to effectively carry out their jobs and also organise a capacity building programmes for them because we must not become a people without identity,” he said.

He however called on the state government to reconsider its decision.

•Adapted from a Daily Trust report.