Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, has opposed a bill seeking to establish a training institute for the Police Service Commission (PSC), warning that the senate must not serve as a “rubber stamp” for duplicative institutions.
The bill, titled ‘Police Service Commission Training
Institute (Establishment) Bill, 2025’, was presented during Thursday’s plenary
by Yunus Akintunde, senator representing Oyo central, on behalf of Abdulhamid
Mallam-Madori, chairman of the senate committee on police affairs.
“That the Senate do receive and consider the report of the
Committee on Police Affairs on the Police Service Commission Training Institute
(Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 564),” Akintunde said.
But Oshiomhole, a former governor and labour leader, rose to
oppose the bill, questioning the logic of establishing a training institute for
a commission that employs few people and already has limited operational scope.
“This house can’t rubber stamp everything, Mr President,
Sir. With profound respect, I think we have to be careful over multiplications
and duplications of institutions that will add no value whatsoever,” he said.
“With due respect, I’ll like to ask: beside the Nigeria
Police Force, how many people are employed under the Police Service Commission
— besides the commissioners whose business is to regulate and oversight the
affairs of recruitment, training — for the senate to set up a committee to
establish an institute to train a commission which may sometimes not even
exist?
“In the not-too-distant past, the idea of Police Service
Commission was even abolished and they created the ministry of police affairs.
“Now you have ministry of police affairs and they will train
their people as civil servants, then you have police service commission to
train who?
“This country should invest in training police men and women
and not police service commission.”
Responding, Akintunde clarified that the PSC is a
constitutionally recognised body and has not been replaced or scrapped in
favour of any ministry.
“Police Service Commission is in existence. It was not
cancelled to create the ministry of police affairs,” he said.
“There is quite a world of difference between the police
force and the police service commission.
“This senate has passed a training institute for the Nigeria
Police Force earlier this year. The one we are requesting for now is Police
Service Commission Training Institute.”
Abdul Ningi, the Bauchi central senator, also intervened,
cautioning that debate on the substance of the bill had come at the wrong time.
“We must be guided by our rules. This is a bill at the
second reading. The argument canvassed by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, as good as
they look, have gone beyond that,” he said.
“He must wait, if this bill is assented to, then he can come
for amendment. We have gone beyond that. This is not up for debate.”
Ningi said the bill has gone through debates and public
presentations, adding that the senate can only accept the decisions taken at
the various stages.
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