Attorney-general of the Federation, Abubakar Malami has likened Governors ban on open grazing to prohibiting spare parts trading in the north.
The Southern Governors’ Forum last week resolved to ban open grazing of cattle across the region due to security concerns.
The resolutions of the southern governors have been greeted with mixed reactions from different parts of the country.
Reacting to the development during an interview on Channels TV on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, Malami said governors cannot deny the freedom of Nigerians to move around the country.
According to him: the decision “does not hold water” in the context of human rights as enshrined in the constitution.
“It is about constitutionality within the context of the freedoms expressed in our constitution. Can you deny the rights of a Nigerian?” he queried.
“For example: it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the north.
“Does it hold water? Does it hold water for a northern governor to come and state expressly that he now prohibits spare parts trading in the north?”
He therefore urged Southern governors to approach the National Assembly and get the necessary support to amend the constitution before they can take such a huge action on constitutionally-backed liberties.
“It is indeed a dangerous position for any governor in Nigeria to think that he can bring about any compromise to the freedom and liberty of individuals to move around,” he said.
Malami also flayed the governors for demanding restructuring of the nation, an exercise expected to devolve a lot of powers from the Federal Government to the subnational governments.
The AGF said the governors need to put their own houses in order first, and ensure the functionality of the local government system which he accused them of suppressing despite being a tier of government itself.
The southern governors had last week said Nigeria’s progress requires urgent and bold steps to restructure the country to practice true federalism.
They demanded state police, a review of revenue allocation formula, and creation of other institutions to give more power to sub-national governments.
