The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday resolved that state government with the financial capacity can rehabilitate prisons and provide necessary facilities towards reducing prison decongestion across the country.
The decision was reached during the 78th session presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Council had expressed worries over the appalling conditions of structures and logistics in the nation’s prisons after a presentation by the Minister of Interior, Abdulraman Danbazzu and the Comptroller General of Prisons.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, said the governors were unanimous on the need to rehabilitate prisons in the country.
He said: “The situation they painted was quite pathetic. I visited the prisons in my state for the first time recently and what l saw was terrible. So, it was agreed that governors should on their own develop initiatives to manage the prisons. For instance, some have transferred prisons from urban centres.
“NEC agreed that governors should support the federal government on prison matters. States that have the capacity to build prisons should go ahead and do so, including the involvement of private sector participation.
“The minister said 70 per cent of inmates are awaiting trial. Some of them can be converted to labour use. 10 per cent of them are condemned, meaning 20 per cent are true prisoners. Some of the prisoners should be engaged in agricultural programme.
“Governors should do a number of things to decongest prisons. Chief judges of states should frequently visit prisons. Governors should either sign death sentences of those condemned or commit them because it is risky leaving them after their trial had been concluded. NEC resolved that there should be emergency situations on prisons.”
Also speaking, Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, gave an update on the Excess Crude Account (ECA) put at $2.3billion as well as Stabilization, Natural Resources Development and Ecological Funds.
He said that Council also approved extension of budget support to states due to the economic recession.
He said: “Council was briefed on budget support to states because of dwindling revenue and budget implementation. The programme was meant for a year but because of recession, acting president said the facility should continue pending when other claims of states and local governments would be settled.”
The Budget Support Loan Facility is an initiative of the Buhari administration to help states boost their funding in the light of the dwindling Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.
