The Oyo state governor Seyi Makinde has called for the immediate establishment of a state police to combat the security challenges ravaging different parts of Nigeria.
The governor stated this in while addressing the Conference of Speakers of State Legislators, South-West Chapter, chaired by its chairman and Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.
Makinde gave the indication that the refusal of Buhari’s Government to approve South-West Governors’ request to set up the state police a few years ago led to the establishment of the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun.
“A lot of people may not know that before we launched Amotekun in this state, some of us governors went to the Federal Government and we asked to be allowed to set up state police for our various states but we did not get that approval during the time of President Muhammadu Buhari”. He noted.
He stated that in order to deliver the true dividends of democracy to the people, there was need for politicians to unite irrespective of party differences adding that such is a demonstration of good governance that supersedes politics.
Makinde stressed that the establishment of state police is an idea whose time has come and that the apprehensions in some quarters that the creation would not be maintained in some states, are unfounded.
He maintained that the police are on the exclusive list, but if that responsibility is shared and states have to run their police system, they should be facilitated from the federation account to satisfy the responsibility of maintaining the police.
He averred further; “So, the issue of being unable to maintain state police will not arise again. Give us the responsibility first and see if certain states will be able to maintain it or not.
“But since we could not get state police, we settled for Amotekun. All the state assemblies in the South West passed a common law for its establishment. So, we have to be pushing for state police, and you lawmakers have a role to play to make that a reality.”
The Oyo governor argued that he has never seen where the Federal Government went to a particular state and gave the police everything they needed stating that the states are already maintaining the police.
