- as Tinubu orders IGP, DSS, NSA to go after food hoarders
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
To combat the nation’s growing level of insecurity, the federal government has hinted that it may adopt state police.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, made the disclosure to State House Correspondents on Thursday after a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and governors at the Presidential Villa.
The Minister was joined at the briefing by Governors Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ubah Sani (Kaduna) and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta).
According to him, the possibility of state police will be further discussed.
He added that a lot of work needs to be done, and the president and governors have agreed on working out the modalities.
While noting that both the federal and state governments are mulling the idea, Mohammed said series of meetings are in the pipeline to determine the modalities for the setting up of the state police, noting therefore that nothing concrete has yet been determined.
The minister revealed that a committee has been set up to synthesize all that had been discussed at the meeting.
Idris said the president has directed the national security adviser, the director general of the state department of state services and the inspector general of police to coordinate with governors to end hoarding of food commodities in the country.
According to the minister, President Tinubu has ordered the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the Director General of the State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to work with governors to immediately check the activities of those hoarding food items with intention to smuggle them out or make extra profits from the resulting scarcity.
The meeting decided to have State Governments increase the number and activities of forest rangers to improve security for farmers; deepen investments in food production and do more to get the youth more gainfully employed.
In addition, the minister said that, in contrast to the federal government’s previous stance, no food commodities would be imported.
He clarified that in order for the nation to be both self-sufficient and a net exporter, the government hopes to maintain the progress already made in local food production.
Idris said: “Recall that this meeting was at the instance of Mr. President to intimate the state governors about what is happening, and what the federal government is doing and to also hear from the state governors, their input about issues of development in this country.
“A lot of issues were discussed about the security situation in the country. The apparent food issue that the media has also been reporting about and some other measures that will help in improving the state of our nation.
“Now, the first point is that the governors and Mr. President have agreed to set up a committee to deepen the conversation that has happened at the just-concluded meeting. Of course, you know that it is impossible to complete most of the issues that were raised at the meeting so is going to be a continuous one.
“Secondly, Mr. President and the governors have agreed that these kinds of meetings will continue in the interest of our nation.
“It is important that all the time, the federal government and the state governors who are leaders at the subnational level to continue to engage and interact collectively so that issues of national importance will continue to be addressed, and we don’t leave room for any speculation or for people who may seize the opportunity to say things that are not in the interest of our country.
“First, the National Security Adviser, the Director General of the state services, and the Inspector General of Police have been directed to coordinate with the state governors to look at the issue of those hoarding commodities.
“At this point, the nation requires foods to be brought out to the people so that we can control prices and put food on the table of most Nigerians, other commodity traders are busy hoarding these commodities so that Nigerians will suffer or they will make more money as a result.
“So the governors and Mr. President have taken this decision that security agencies will collaborate with the state governors to ensure that this ends.
“Number two, a decision has also been taken that in the interest of our country, there will be no need for food importation at this point. Nigeria has the potential to feed itself and even be a net exporter of food items to other countries. And we do not also want to reverse some of the progress we have seen in terms of food production in this country.
“What we’re seeing now is just a temporary difficulty that will soon go away. Therefore, the solution to it is by continuous investment in agriculture so that food can be made available to all Nigerians.
“Of course, you know that Mr. President has declared emergency in agriculture many months ago. Therefore, part of the measures that he has taken is to ensure that investments, more investments are made in this sector for the benefit of our people.
“The governors have also agreed to join hands with Mr. President to deepen their own investment in the agricultural sector so that more food will be made available to Nigerians. Of course, this investment is not just in crop production, it is also in livestock development and management.
“All these is to ensure that food is available in the area of security Mr President and the state governors have all agreed that at this point, we are seeing significant improvement in the security situation around the country of course.
“This is not to say that the security situation has been solved completely. But we have seen significant improvement. In Borno, for example, areas where farmers have not been able to cultivate as a result of security, those farmers have now returned to their farms. It is also the same thing in Jigawa and many parts of the country. The governors, including the governor of Plateau State, has also attested to the fact that despite all the challenges that we’re having, there appears to be improvement in security in these areas.
“Of course, as I said, the situation has not been completely solved. But we are seeing a positive movement towards a secure Nigeria.
“Mr. President and the governors also thank the security agencies for the work they are doing. Some of them even pay the supreme price with their lives to ensure that Nigerians have a secure environment. They have thanked Mr. president for all that he’s doing. And they have also asked him to do more so that at the end of the day, we will have a completely secured Nigeria.
“Now in this direction. Mr. President and the state governors have also discussed the possibility of improving the numeric strength of forest rangers to train them so that they can keep our forests and our borders very safe.
“Now, there is also a discussion around the issue of state police. The federal government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police.
“Of course, this is still going to be further discussed. A lot of work has to be done in that direction. Both the federal government and the state governments agree to the necessity of having state police, now this is a significant shift. But like I said, more work needs to be done in that direction.
“A lot of meetings will have to happen between the federal government and the subnationals to see the modalities of achieving this. Now, these are some of the issues that have have been discussed.
“Mr. President has also called on the state governors to join hands with the federal government to provide more for people, especially the teeming youth population. There is going to be a joint programme between the State governments and the federal government to ensure that our teeming youth population is gainfully employed. So that we will reduce to the barest minimum the issue of unemployment in the country.
“At the end of it all. The 36 state governors and Mr. President are all on one page irrespective of political differences to ensure that Nigeria remains peaceful. Nigeria remains united. Nigeria remains prosperous, going forward. And this kind of conversation, like I said, will continue to be deepened. Engagements between the federal government and the state governors will continue.”