The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) has called on
the national assembly to fast-track the passage of the bill for the creation of
state police.
Muhammadu Yahaya, governor of Gombe and chairman of the
forum, spoke in Kaduna on Saturday at the end of a joint meeting with members
of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council.
Yahaya said the forum also called for a review of the
country’s security strategy to address the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks and
violent killings in the north-central zone.
He said a mutually beneficial resolution was reached on the
tax reform bills following the position of the forum on the matter.
Yahaya said the forum commended President Bola Tinubu for
listening to stakeholders on the matter and his “commitment to inclusive
governance”.
“I am pleased to report that through the platform of the
Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the national economic council, and in consultation
with the leadership of the national assembly, we found a way forward that will
lead to a mutually beneficial resolution of the matter,” he said.
“We recommend that going forward, such a collaborative
approach should guide all matters of intergovernmental relations in the
interest of the people.”
The Gombe governor said the state of infrastructure in the
northern region is worrisome, adding that some projects awarded in the past
have been neglected.
“The state of infrastructure in Northern Nigeria remains a
cause for major concern,” he said.
“While we acknowledge President Tinubu’s commitment to
completing the ongoing Kaduna-Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, the
Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressway, and the AKK gas pipeline among many others, other
projects like the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line, Kano-Maiduguri expressway,
and Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu expressway which were awarded in the past,
remain in a serious state of neglect.
“In the same vein, no state of the north-east was captured
in the federal government’s superhighway project.
“We must therefore explore innovative financing options,
including public-private partnerships and infrastructure bonds, in order to
bridge this gap and lay a solid foundation for agricultural production,
industrialization and growth.”
In a communique released at the end of the meeting, the
forum said it resolved to immediately “set up inter-state platforms to
coordinate surveillance on our joint borders”.
“The forum resolved to liaise with the Nigerian Governors
Forum to work out modalities of how to increase support to the federal security
forces,” the communique reads.
“The forum reiterated its support for the creation of the
State Police and called on the national assembly to expedite action on the
enactment of the legal framework for its take-off.”
The bill for the creation of state police is currently at
the national assembly.
The legislation proposes to transfer the term “police” in the
1999 constitution (as amended) from the exclusive legislative list to the
concurrent list.
However, critics have argued that state governors could
abuse such a policing system, using it as a tool to intimidate dissenting
voices.
Proponents of the state police believe that the system will
allow states to tackle their insecurity challenges at the local level without
relying on the federal government.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com