President Muhammadu Buhari has again rejected the institution of state police in the country.
This comes amid calls for state policing to tackle insecurities in the
nation, as the current policing system was under the federal government.
In an interview the President insisted that state police is not an option,
adding that more attention should be paid to the relationship between
local government and state Governors.
Buhari said, “State police is not an option. Find out the relationship
between local government and the Governors. Are the third tier of
government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are
they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the
fight is between local governments and the Governor.”
The President further added that the roles of traditional rulers in the
country should not be undermined in bringing peace to communities.
This is not the first time that the President had rejected state policing
despite calls from the state governors.
As far back as 2019, the President had noted that though state policing
was a good initiative, the governors may be unable to pay the officers’
salaries.
