All 36 states have submitted their positions on State Police, with a majority agreeing on the need for state-controlled policing.
The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the 147th meeting of the National Economic Council at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
He said: “Today, one of the discussions we had at the NEC meeting was the update on the creation of state police. As you are aware, there was a submission by states toward the establishment of state police.
“36 states have submitted, minus FCT. FCT is not a state. They explained why they had not submitted it. But 36 states have all submitted their own position on state police.
“From what is available, virtually most of the states are in agreement with the establishment of state police in Nigeria. I want to say here clearly that most of us are in agreement with the establishment of State Police.”
The Kaduna State Governor explained that the consensus stemmed from various security challenges across states.
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He highlighted the central issue of ungoverned spaces in Nigeria and the acute shortage of security personnel, including the police, army, and other relevant agencies, which are unable to cover all areas adequately.
“That is why most of us agreed that the establishment of state police in Nigeria is the way forward toward addressing the problem of insecurity in our own country,” he stated.
However, the Council deferred final discussions until January, when a detailed report from the NEC secretariat will be presented for deliberation.
“But today, the Council decided to step down the discussion until the next council meeting because we need to come up with a report from the secretariat. After the report, there will be deliberation at the next NEC meeting, which will likely take place in January.
“Not only that. There was also a resolution in the last NEC meeting, which today the secretariat agreed on, stating that there will be further stakeholder engagement after the panel and deliberation by the members of the NEC,” he added.
At its 146th meeting on November 21, the Council gave Adamawa, Kebbi, and Kwara States and the FCT one week (November 28) to submit their positions on the proposed creation of state police.
“The Council mandated these remaining states and FCT to make their submissions within the next one week,” Bayelsa State Governor, Mr Duoye Diri stated.
Diri said the three states and the nation’s capital are the only entities yet to submit reports out of the 36 states.
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