- He also stated that funding would be a challenge for governors to pursue the adoption and implementation of state police
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State says a review of the current revenue allocation formula among federating unit will have to take place in the event that state police is adopted.
Sule made this known during an interview in Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme.
He also stated that funding would be a challenge for governors to pursue the adoption and implementation of state police.
Talks about state police have been on the front burner of public discourse in recent weeks with some governors and regional socio-political groups like Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo pushing for its adoption.
They say it’s the antidote to the avalanche of security crises that plague the nation.
Already, there are state-owned security outfits in about 23 states. However, these outfits are severely limited in their operations due to a number of legal impediment and constitutional hindrances.
One of such limitations include lack of license to bear firearms and superior weapons to confront deadly insurgents and criminals. However, governors are optimistic that with a constitutional backing, these outfits will live up to their full potential.
To this end, President Bola Tinubu and governors of the 36 states mid-February, agreed on state police as a method to curb the escalating security challenges in the country. About a month later, 16 governors submitted their reports to the National Economic Council (NEC).
Funding has been cited as one of the albatross to materialisation of state police as some governors would demand an upward review of monthly allocations to their states.
Speaking on the matter, governor Sule said: “I went to school, grew up and went to school in a country where it is not even state police; you have county police, which local government police. The institution I attended, Indiana University, had Indiana University Police. So, I grew up in the background of this independent police and distribution. Sometimes, we just see what is happening in other countries and we just want to adopt.
“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.
“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.”
The governor also said Nasarawa is one of the states yet to submit memoranda on state police to NEC because the state is still consulting with stakeholders. “We are one of the 20 states that are yet to submit. It’s not that we are against it, it’s not that we are for it. We are still on consultation,” he said
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