The Borno State government has kicked against the establishment of state police in the country.
The Secretary of the National Economic Council, Nebeolisa Anako, disclosed this in a text message sent to our correspondent on Sunday.
Anako, who was responding to an inquiry by our correspondent, said nearly all the 36 state governors had submitted their reports on state police, with many of them positive except for Borno State.
“Almost all, and mostly positive.
Borno is the only state against,” Anako said in the text message sent to our correspondent.
The PUNCH reports that in 2021, the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, stated that Nigeria was not ripe for state police.
The governor had while delivering a lecture at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, Plateau State, said decentralising the police force would worsen the security challenges in the country.
“Nigeria is not mature for state police. Some state governors can use it to wipe away other tribes apart from their tribes,” he was quoted as saying.
There have been calls for the establishment of state police as a panacea for insecurity in the country.
As a result of this, President Bola Tinubu on February 15 agreed to the establishment of state police in the country after meeting with some governors.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who disclosed this to journalists said there will be a series of meetings to fine-tune the modalities for setting up state police.
On February 20, a bill seeking the amendment to the 1999 Constitution to empower governors to appoint state commissioners of police scaled second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives.
The bill was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, and 14 others.
The initiative sparked debate across the country, with figures like the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, objecting to its establishment.
The Speakers of the Houses of Assembly from all 36 states were among those who supported the creation of state police.
As of March 21, 2024, the National Economic Council had received the reports of 16 states out of 36 on the creation of state police.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is consulting with relevant stakeholders to fix a date for a meeting with the 36 state governors on the proposed creation of state police, power devolution, local government autonomy.
The Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr Francis Waive, disclosed this to our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday.
The meeting with the governors, according to the work plan unveiled by the Constitution Review Committee, will be in June on a date yet to be decided.
Still in June, the Constitution Review Committee, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, will interface with the chairmen of the 18 registered political parties in the country.
Recall that on April 22, 2024, the Kalu-led committee convened a public hearing on state policing in Abuja, attended by eminent Nigerians, including a former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan, and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, among others.
While Abdulsalami and Jonathan drummed support for state policing, citing the worrisome state of security in the country, the police boss called for the strengthening of the existing police force, warning that state governors were likely to hijack state police for political reasons.
The PUNCH gathered that the June meeting with 36 state governors is to “solicit their support for the amendment to the constitution when it gets to the state Assemblies.”
The meeting, according to findings by The PUNCH, will take place in Abuja and will be coordinated by the Office of the Deputy Speaker and Secretariat of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre.
Similarly, the Office of the Deputy Speaker and PLAC Secretariat will coordinate the meeting with political party chairmen and leaders with the aim of “taking their input and garnering support for amendments to the constitution.”
Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday on the date of the meeting with governors and party chairmen, Waive, who represents Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency, Delta State said, “Consultation on an acceptable date is ongoing.”
A second retreat, according to the work plan, is expected to take place in Abuja in the last week of June 2024 and will feature a meeting of the Constitution Review Committee with the consultants handling various aspects of the amendment and alteration exercise.
