Nigeria needs state police –Okechukwu, Reps minority leader

From Magnus Eze, Enugu

House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu, at the weekend, said Nigeria needs state police urgently to address the precarious security situation in the country.

He also called for immediate measures to begin restructuring of Nigeria to forestall imminent disaster for the country.

The lawmaker, representing Awgu-Aninri-Oji River federal constituency of Enugu State, spoke on a popular radio phone-in programme, entitled ‘Freedom Square’, on Solid FM station, monitored by Daily Sun in Enugu.

Harping on the need to reframe the infrastructure of managing security of the people, he declared the country cannot effectively tackle insecurity under the current security system.

Okechukwu insisted on the creation of state police as according to him, the routine structure of managing security should be domiciled in the state, not just in security matters but also in other matters like education.

He said the Federal Government cannot continue to run from pillar to post while the nation was being swallowed by insecurity, political strife and economic/infrastructural decay.   

He urged the Federal Government to adhere to calls by well-meaning Nigerians and groups, including Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo for the restructuring of the country.

He said he had personally moved a motion in the lower chamber for the adoption of the 2014 national political conference report as well as the Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s All Progressives Congress (APC) committee report on true federalism, as a working document by the Green Chambers. 

“Even if you make another summit on restructuring, you will still have to go to parliament because they are enabled by the provisions of our constitution to make those views, whatever the collective agreement of our people, to put it into law.

“And once the Federal Government pushes that by way of an executive bill, we are by compulsion supposed to work on it. And there isn’t anything on the moon or in the sun or on earth about Nigeria that is not in that conference report, including APC committee report on true federation, on devolution of powers, on finances, on state police and all that. And (if) we don’t approach the remedy for the challenges we have, we do so at our own peril,” he said.