Governors yet to take a position on state police – Fayemi
The governors of the 36 states of Nigeria on Friday said no position has been taken on the creation of state police in the country.
The chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi, stated this at the end of a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Mr Buhari and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, met with the governors and the country’s security chiefs.
The governors who attended the meeting include those of Adamawa, Borno, Taraba, Kebbi, Delta, Sokoto, Imo, Ebonyi, Kogi, Yobe, Gombe, Ekiti, Lagos, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kano and Niger states.
Others are Anambra, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Osun, Rivers, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Zamfara, Kwara, Ondo, Bayelsa and Enugu states.
All the security chiefs, including the Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff, Abubakar Sadique, attended the meeting.
Others are the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar; Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and the Director General of the Department for State Service (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
Briefing journalists, alongside his Borno, Plateau, Ondo, Ebonyi, Kebbi and Delta counterparts, Mr Fayemi, who is the Ekiti State Governor, said the meeting was convened at their instance, to address the security challenges in the country.
He said they have not taken a position on the creation of state police, highlighting that experience varies among states.
He said while some of his colleagues are in support, others are against it.
He said the state police and other issues relating to the security challenges of the country would be discussed during the forthcoming National Economic Council (NEC).
The governor’s statement on state police is coming days after a presidential panel recommended the creation of state and local government police to tackle the rising insecurity in the country.
Speaking on the $1 billion removed from the excess crude account for security, Mr Fayemi said the money was taken and has been spent among the security agencies in the country.
