Governors of the 36 states have agreed to establish state police to tackle the prevailing insecurity in the country.
This was part of the resolutions of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
State police is one of the initiatives government has proposed to employ in the bid to address the country’s persistent insecurity challenges.
At the last NEC meeting in November, three states-Adamawa, Kebbi, and Kwara-along with the Federal Capital Territory, were yet to submit their reports.
Governor Sani confirmed that the states’ reports are in, with all states except the FCT having completed their submissions.
Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani said, “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 towards the establishment of state police.”
However, the governor also disclosed that the NEC secretariat has committed to engaging stakeholders further before the council’s January meeting, where a comprehensive report will be presented.
Governor Sani noted that the discussions at the meeting were centered on updates regarding submissions by states towards the creation of state police.
He emphasised that many states agreed on the need for state-controlled police forces due to the unique security challenges faced by individual regions and the glaring inadequacies in the current national security framework.
He further explained that the council decided to defer final deliberations on the matter until its next meeting, likely to be held in January.
The delay, he explained, is to allow the NEC secretariat to compile and present a comprehensive report based on the submissions received.
|DailyTrust|
