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By Goli Innocent
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday night asked the Senate to begin immediate steps to amend the Constitution to accommodate state police, saying Nigeria’s security challenges have outgrown the current centralised policing structure.
The President made the appeal during an interfaith breakfast with senators at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he spoke bluntly about terrorism, banditry and insurgency ravaging parts of the country.
“We are facing terrorism, banditry, and insurgency. But we will never fail to make a right response to this cause. What I will ask for tonight is for you (Senators) to start thinking how best to amend the constitution to incorporate the State Police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders, and free our children from fear,” Tinubu said.
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He argued that decentralised policing would empower states to respond faster to threats within their territories, improve intelligence gathering at community level and complement federal security agencies. For the President, reclaiming ungoverned spaces and restoring public confidence requires structural reform, not just rhetoric.
“It is a good thing that we are working in harmony, we are looking forward to a country that evolves, a country that takes care of its citizens and protects all,” he added, praising cooperation between the executive and the National Assembly.
Tinubu also used the occasion to defend his administration’s economic decisions. “I have a lot of credit for bold reforms. Without your collaboration and inspiration, those reforms would not be possible. We are reformists together. What we gave up and what we stopped is monumental corruption in the subsidy system. We don’t want to participate in monumental corruption and arbitrage foreign exchange,” he said, before adding: “You don’t have to chase me for dollars; you could see what Nigeria is today. You should be proud, and I am glad you are. What we are enjoying is a stable economy, and prosperity is beckoning us. We need to work hard, and this attendance means a lot to me.”
In his response, Senate President Godswill Akpabio thanked the President for the engagement and described the meeting as a sign of mutual respect between both arms of government, expressing hope that sustained collaboration would deliver security and economic stability for Nigerians.
