Governors of Nasarawa and Oyo States have voiced their reservations regarding the implementation of state police, citing concerns over funding and the appropriate legislative process.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa and his counterpart from Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, expressed their reservations in separate interviews after the 140th National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, where 16 states submitted their proposals on the establishment of state police.
After the NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, it was revealed that while 16 states had submitted their proposals, the remaining 20 had yet to do so. The NEC, however, said all states across the country expressed their support for the establishment of state police to tackle insecurity.
The meeting thereafter resolved that the rate of submissions by states was not impressive and urged the remaining states yet to make inputs to expedite action to enable robust deliberations on the subject matter at the next Council meeting.
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However, efforts made so far may soon face challenges as the governors of two of the states that have yet to submit their reports have raised issues concerning the workability of the project.
Speaking with Channels TV on Sunday, Governor Sule said governors would demand a new revenue allocation formula once the state police structure is adopted. He cited funding as a potential issue for governors to pursue the implementation of the state police project.
Governor Sule stated, “My concern about state police, and it is not like I am against it; I am all for it, but my biggest concern about state police is funding the state police.”
He added, “The next thing after we adopt this state police, you will hear the state governors asking for a review of the sharing formula. And you still have the military and other security agencies under the federal government. What we are getting right now may not be sustainable.”
Governor Sule also mentioned that Nasarawa is one of the states yet to submit memoranda on state police to the NEC because the state is still consulting with stakeholders.
On his part, Governor Makinde criticized the submission of memoranda by state governors for state police, calling it a futile exercise. He argued that the issue of state police should be addressed by the National Assembly, not the NEC or the National Security Adviser.
Makinde emphasized that the state police issue should be handled by the National Assembly, given its constitutional nature, before being adopted by state Houses of Assembly.
Governor Makinde said, “I did not submit any memorandum for the state police. But my position is very clear about state police. I see it, quite frankly, as a waste of our time.”
He added, “The National Assembly knows what to do. They have people who can quickly do this work. It is not the National Security Adviser or the National Economic Council that will deal with the issue of state police.”
