ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Peoples Redemption Party, (PRP), has opposed the proposed establishment of state police, arguing that President Bola Tinubu’s administration lacks the credibility, public confidence and moral authority to supervise such a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s policing system.
The party’s position comes barely 24 hours after the Senate passed the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police nationwide, a move widely regarded as a major step towards decentralising policing powers in response to the country’s growing security challenges.
In a statement issued on Thursday, PRP National Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, described the proposal as questionable and urged Nigerians to reject it.
“The Peoples Redemption Party is deeply concerned over plans by President Tinubu’s administration to procure State Police through constitutional amendment at a time when its credibility and competence are at an unprecedented low level in our democratic history,” Baba-Ahmed said.
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While acknowledging that the constitutional amendment could eventually secure the required approvals, the opposition party maintained that the current administration lacks the public trust needed to implement such a far-reaching reform.
“Going by precedent and record, this administration will almost certainly secure what is needed to amend the Constitution and actualise its desire to establish State Police.
“While Nigeria needs a major review and overhaul of its security, law and order institutions to address national security and create an environment that should raise citizens’ confidence and faith in leaders and critical institutions.
“This administration lacks the moral assets and the trust of Nigerians to undertake a major shift in the policing structure of the country. The APC administration has failed to manage our security structure and institutions. Its plan to engineer the emergence of State Police is suspicious and it should be rejected,” he stated.
The PRP argued that discussions on creating state police should be deferred until after the next general election, insisting that such a sensitive constitutional reform should only be undertaken by a government enjoying broad public confidence and legitimacy.
“The PRP advises that the forthcoming election should be a threshold which should be crossed with credibility and popular acclaim before the nation decides on important issues such as state police structures.
“It further advises the current administration to make more efforts towards securing citizens and bringing an end to the nightmare under which we all live,” Baba-Ahmed added.
The Senate had on Wednesday approved the Constitution Alteration Bill after conducting a clause-by-clause consideration of the proposal during plenary.
The bill received the support of more than two-thirds of senators through a manual voting process, paving the way for the next stage of the constitutional amendment process.
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Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the passage of the legislation following the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.
The proposed amendment seeks to establish a constitutional framework for state police while preserving the authority of the Nigeria Police Force over national security responsibilities, including terrorism, border protection and other federal offences.
Before the proposal can become law, however, it must secure the approval of at least 24 state Houses of Assembly before being transmitted to President Tinubu for assent.