Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji has said all 36 state governors support the creation of state police and are prepared to fast-track the approval of the necessary constitutional amendments to ensure its implementation.
Speaking with journalists after presenting his Certificate of Return for a second term to President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday, Oyebanji said governors were united behind the proposal and would expedite its passage through their respective State Houses of Assembly.
“We are ready for state police. We are thankful to the National Assembly for the constitutional amendments, and we are waiting for them to be transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly.
“The governors have made up their minds that they are going to give it speedy approval so that we can start implementation,” he said.
The governor noted that the National Economic Council (NEC) had already deliberated on the proposal and that most states had submitted their positions in support of establishing state police.
Also speaking, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, described the establishment of state police as a necessity driven by the country’s security challenges rather than political considerations.
“It is important that we all know that state police is a child of necessity. It is no longer about political interests or politics. All of us are on the same page that there is a need for this,” he said.
Bamidele, who accompanied Oyebanji to the meeting with the President, assured Nigerians that the National Assembly was incorporating constitutional and legal safeguards to prevent governors from abusing the proposed state police structure.
Responding to concerns that governors could use state police for political purposes, the Senate Leader acknowledged that such fears were legitimate but said lawmakers were addressing them through the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
“There will always be fears and concerns. Whether those concerns are well-founded is another issue altogether, but we are not unmindful of them. In most cases, they are legitimate concerns,” he said.
He explained that while governors already exercise some influence over the deployment of the Nigeria Police in their states as chief security officers, the proposed legal framework for state police would contain mechanisms to reduce opportunities for abuse.
“We are putting mechanisms in the law, as we are amending the Constitution, that will prevent or minimise instances of abuse by state governors.
“It is not everything that can go into the Constitution, but what is important is that we are taking these concerns into consideration,” Bamidele stated.
The Senate Leader disclosed that additional operational safeguards would be captured in amendments to the Police Act after the constitutional amendment establishing state police is completed.
“In the amendment to the Police Act that will follow, we will spell out more details—details that cannot possibly go into the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
Bamidele added that the overwhelming support among state governors reflected a growing national consensus on decentralising policing to improve security across the country.
He expressed confidence that the constitutional amendment would receive swift concurrence from State Houses of Assembly once transmitted by the National Assembly.
“All the governors, or most of the governors, are on the same page with us, and that will be demonstrated by the speed with which the bill will receive concurrence in their state Houses of Assembly by the time we eventually transmit it,” he said.
Deji Elumoye
