The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, blamed state governors’ inability to pay salaries as the cause of increasing crime rate in the country.

Abubakar, who expressed concern over the poor living condition of Nigerians, urged individuals saddled with the task of catering for the needs of the people to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The Sultan spoke during a courtesy visit to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, in Benin City, ahead of the Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.

The monarch said he is ‎delighted with the recent increase in minimum wage and payment of salaries by Oshiomhole.

“That is one of the things causing criminal activities. Workers are not paid and they cannot go to the market because there is no money to do that. There is hunger in the land.

“When people are hungry we know the consequence. As we all know, a hungry man is an angry man. We know the problems in the country. So as leaders, let us put our heads together and see how we can resolve them.”