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Nigerian Governors endorse state police

The stage may be set for the establishment of state police, following the submission of plans for their take-off by all the states.
The governors declared their collective support for the multi-layer policing initiated by the Federal Government to address the persistent security challenges.
At the end of the yesterday’s 147th National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the State House in Abuja presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the governors also suggested improved funding for the activities of the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC).
They also resolved to participate in the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) programmes to combat food insecurity.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, who spoke with reporters on behalf of the Council, said the three states—Adamawa, Kebbi, and Kwara—which could not submit their proposals on the state police, finally submitted.
Only the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is yet to submit it’s proposals on the issue.
Sani said nearly all the states have endorsed the proposed establishment of state police, signaling a strong consensus on the matter.
He said the discussions at the meeting focused on plans by states for the review of the police structure.
He emphasized that many states agreed on the need for state-controlled police due to the unique security challenges confronting the regions and the glaring inadequacies zin the current national security framework.
He explained that the Council decided to defer final deliberations on the matter until its next meeting billed for next month.
The delay, he explained, is to allow the NEC secretariat to present a comprehensive report based on the submissions by states.
The governor said plans are underway for stakeholders’ engagements to refine the proposals before a final decision is taken.
Sani said a decentralised policing system would enable states to tailor security measures to their specific needs, thereby enhancing the overall safety of citizens.
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.
“Today, all 36 states have already made their submissions for establishing state police and I can say here that from what is available, virtually most of the states are in agreement with the establishment of state police.
“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 and after the report, there will be deliberation at the next NEC meeting that is likely taking place in January.
“Not only that, there’s also a resolution in the last NEC meeting, which today the Secretariat have also agreed on that there will be further stakeholder engagement after the panel and deliberation by the members of the NEC.”
Sani added: “So, all we are saying here is that 36 states have made their own submission, and many states are in agreement for the establishment of state police, considering the fact that virtually every state has their peculiarity in terms of the problem we are having of insecurity in our own states.
“Knowing full well that we have a lot of ungoverned space in Nigeria, and also that we have a lot of deficit in terms of number of boots on ground, looking at the fact that a lot of security agencies, the police, the army and other relevant security agencies have no personnel to cover all the ungoverned spaces, that is the reason most of us agreed that establishment of state police in Nigeria is the way forward toward addressing the problem of insecurity in our own country.”
Improved funding for RMAFC
NEC also suggested the allocation of 0.05% of non-oil federation revenue for RMAFC activities.
Anambra State Governor Charles Solomon told reporters that the Council approved a legislative review of RMFAC Establishment Act.
The decision followed an earlier presentation by the RMFAC Chairman at the November 21 NEC meeting, highlighting its critical role in the federation and its current funding challenges.
Soludo explained that the NEC considered RMFAC’s draft repeal-and-replace legislation, which aims to update the legal framework governing the Commission to better reflect its responsibilities.
The Council agreed that the draft bill should be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
In response to RMFAC’s request for alternative funding mechanisms, NEC proposed the allocation of 0.05% of non-oil federation revenue to the Commission.
Although RMFAC initially requested 0.75%, NEC settled for a lower figure as a tentative measure, subject to further scrutiny and approval by the National Assembly.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy made a presentation for the establishment of historic sites to be named as Renewed Hope Creative Villages.
He said: “The whole idea is for the ministry to be able to work first, with a lot of the sub-nationals to identify some of these sites and identify some of these very historic locations, and see how they are adopted, into the creative villages, as a one stop shop.
“We’ve talked about the enormous opportunity that are bound in the creative industry, especially with our rural historic sites and with our monuments. So, the whole idea around the presentation was for the ministry to put it at the front burner and for the sub-nationals to be able to work with them identify various sites that can become what we call thriving. We know that sector has the potential of giving hundreds and thousands of jobs.”
The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, explained that the indebtedness of states to the Federal Government was N16.6 billion.
He said the Excess Crude Account as at December 10, was $424 million, Stabilisation account, N33.3 billion, while natural resources account was N23 billion
Edun added: “Also reported as regards the surpluses that states have with the federal government, that figure is currently 363.4 billion naira, while the state deficit position with the federal government, stands at approximately N16.6 billion.”
Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor Akon Eyakenyi spoke on the ad hoc committee on flood, erosion, drought, and desertification, chaired by Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo.
Eyakenyi said the committee has successfully implemented many recommendations on financial assistance to states grappling with flood issues.
Culled from The Nation Newspaper
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