Kalu Assures Nigerians On Funding Of Proposed State Police System

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has assured Nigerians that the National Assembly is putting in place measures to guarantee sustainable funding for the new policing structure.

Kalu gave the assurance on Friday while briefing journalists in Abuja after returning from a weeklong engagement at Chatham House and the London Climate Action Week in United Kingdom.

The Deputy Speaker said legislators were already working on mechanisms to ensure that funding would not be an impediment to the successful implementation of the initiative, addressing concerns that many states may not have the financial capacity to run their own police services.

“We’re looking at how to make sure that funding will not be a problem with regard to state policing because it is like taking some of the responsibility of the Federal Governmentt for the states to handle,” he said.

He said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has greatly increased the allocations to states, giving them more fiscal capacity to take up more responsibilities, including policing.

Now, it is important to note that this current administration, which believes in federalism, has released more money to the states than ever before. So it would be no stretch for Mr. President to say, ‘I’m already sending the states a lot of money. Kalu said, ‘Part of it is going to be used for this.’
He said the National Assembly was also looking at other sources of funding that will guarantee the sustainability of state police.

“But as Parliament, we are looking at where we can get one or two things that will help so that funding does not become an issue. He added, “we’ll sort it out in the next couple of days.”

He said the present legislative recess was being used to perfect the constitutional amendment bill on state police and that members of the National Assembly were working to ensure that the legislation adequately addresses all concerns.

In fact that’s one of the reasons some of us are not on holiday. “Even though we are on recess, we are here cracking our heads to see how we can put the bricks properly and build the wall of that legislative enactment in a way that it will be solid enough to carry the load that is going to be on it,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker, in response to fears that governors could use state police for political ends, acknowledged that such fears were legitimate, but insisted that adequate safeguards had been incorporated in the proposed constitutional amendment.

The draft legislation provides clear guardrails on the powers, duties and responsibilities of state police while prescribing national minimum operational standards every state police service must meet, he explained.

“They can raise the bar for the state, but they cannot go below the national minimum standard,” he said, adding that state police would not be allowed to take part in partisan activities or politically motivated operations.

He added that the National Assembly would then embark on a consequential repeal and re-enactment of the Police Act to give legal framework for the operation of state police and address implementation concerns raised by stakeholders after the constitutional amendment is concluded.

On the country’s security situation, the Deputy Speaker dismissed claims that insecurity was on the increase saying that data at hand showed gradual improvement.

“I have argued that insecurity in our country is not deepening. It is going down. It’s not growing,” he said.

He said the number of local government areas formerly under the control of the insurgents had fallen from 17 to less than six, describing the development as evidence of the Federal Government’s sustained efforts to restore peace and security.

Kalu said the Tinubu administration had demonstrated its determination to address insecurity by raising the expenditure on defence from about ₦2.1 trillion to over ₦5 trillion since it assumed office.

He said the National Assembly was advocating for putting defence funding on the first line charge to ensure timely release of funds for security operations.

He said the reforms were part of the message he delivered in his engagements at Chatham House, where he sought to reassure international stakeholders about Nigeria’s improving security outlook, democratic reforms and preparations for the 2027 general elections.