Asishana Okauru, Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), says the decisions of the remaining 20 State Governors on the proposed establishment of State Police are expected to be submitted in four weeks time.
Recall that 16 state governors had earlier thrown their weight behind the establishment as a method for combating insecurity at the State level in the country.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nwkocha, had earlier disclosed that 16 out of the 36 states already submitted their reports on the state policing initiative.
However, Okauru explained that it became clear after the NGF’s last meeting that there was a need for the governors to speed up “whatever report they were putting together in respect of state police and submit it.
“The official position of the forum is in favour of state police. I don’t know of any state that is not in support of state police. I can tell you that I don’t know of any state not in support of the idea. That the governors have not submitted their reports for now is not saying they are not in support of it (state police).
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“They are in the process of submitting their reports and I can tell you that in the next couple of weeks that would have been resolved. This is the only way to go. The forum has come a long way. So, there’s a very strong consensus in support of state police.”
Asked if funding would be a major challenge for the state police, the NGF Director-General added that the government should begin to think about innovative ways to fund the security architecture of the country.
“Even the way the police structure is configured, funding is still an issue. So, the funding issue will always be there. In some other countries, the police institution is to some extent revenue-generating. You know, it has revenue-generating potential. I mean, if done well, you know that everybody will agree to it. Let’s accept that the funding issue will always be there whether it is done centrally or you are for state police.
“Another point that must be made is that it is not because some states have not submitted their reports that the idea hasn’t taken off. It became very clear after the last meeting that they needed to speed up whatever report they were putting together in respect of state police and submit it. So, a maximum of about four weeks, and it should be done,” he added.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on Thursday, February 15, 2024, agreed on the need to establish state police as recommended by state governors to curb rising insecurity in the country.
