Southern Governors Hail Northern Compatriots For Seeking State Police

Members of the Southern Governors Forum have applauded the recent call by northern governors for immediate establishment of state police to tackle the continued security crisis in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by Ondo State Governor and Chairman Southern Governors Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Monday 19th September 2022, the Forum, said it received with “great relief the news of the resolution of the 19 Northern State Governors and Northern Traditional Rulers Council to call for the constitutional amendment to allow restructuring in order to reflect the current realities.

The statement by the southern governors comes days after the 19 northern governors and all the traditional rulers in the region called for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to give legal backing to state police in Nigeria.

The statement described the northern colleagues as great patriots, saying the development would address the continued security challenges in the country.

Part of the statement reads, “Their decision to support the call for constitutional amendment to reflect the current realities could not have come at a better time than now when the confidence in the capacity of the Federal Government to secure the country appears shaky.”

Akeredolu stated in the statement that: “We, on our part at the Southern Governors Forum have continued to reiterate the fact of the incongruity inherent in an arrangement which purports to be federal, nominally, but whose observances stand at variance with the best practices espoused by climes considered advanced and progressing, amenable to nuances and adaptations which reflect and accommodate the yearnings for inclusion of the component units.

“We will continue to insist on the creation of State Police as the only logical and pragmatic solution to the pervasive problem of insecurity in the land. In addition to this, we shall not fail to renew the call for the adoption of policies geared towards real devolution of powers to the federating units indeed. This is the surest path to peace and progress,” the statement said.