Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, has said his colleagues would demand a review of the current revenue allocation formula once state police was adopted in the country.
Sule, who was a guest on Channels Television’s ”Sunday Politics’ programme, said funding would be an issue for governors to pursue the adoption and implementation of state police.
He also said the deaths of two students of Nasarawa State University during a palliative distribution stampede last Friday was not a result of negligence or poor planning on the part of the government.
“I went to school, grew up and went to school in a country where it is not even state police; you have county police, which is local government police.
”The institution I attended, Indiana University, had Indiana University Police. So, I grew up in the background of this independent police and distribution. Sometimes, we just see what is happening in other countries and we want to adopt.
“My concern about state police, and it is not like I am against it; I am all for it, but my biggest concern about state police is funding.
“The next thing after we adopt this state police, you will hear the state governors asking for a review of the sharing formula. And you still have the military and other security agencies under the federal government. What we are getting right now may not be sustainable.”
The governor also said Nasarawa State remained one of the states yet to submit memoranda on state police to the National Economic Council, NEC, because the state was still consulting with stakeholders.
He said: “We are one of the 20 states that are yet to submit. It’s not that we are against it, it’s not that we are for it. We are still on consultation.”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu and governors of the 36 states of the federation had mid-February, agreed on state police as a method to curb the escalating security challenges in the country.
About a month later, 16 governors submitted their reports to the National Economic Council, NEC, expressing their support for the creation of state police and the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to allow for same. The decision of the remaining 20 governors are still being expected.
State police has faced some criticisms, as well as as supports but the governor said funding could be a challenge for state police as some governors would demand an upward review of monthly allocations to their states.
