The 17 Southern Governors have commended their 19 northern colleagues over their unanimous call for the establishment of state police to tackle the continued security challenges in the country.
In a statement on Monday by the Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, the 17 southern governors described as “great relief”, the resolution of their 19 northern colleagues and traditional rulers to call for the immediate establishment of state police to address the continued insecurity in the country.
On September 12, 2022, the northern governors led by Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong; and traditional rulers in the region had met in Abuja and came out with “a resolution calling for the establishment of state police to tackle security challenges in the region and the nation at large”.
Reacting in his statement on Monday, Akeredolu said, “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.”
“All patriots must salute the courage of the 19 Northern Governors and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council for their stance at this crucial moment in the country.
“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 added.
The southern governors have consistently pushed for the decentralisation of the policing system in the country and had backed state police.
In an effort to curb the growing killings and kidnappings in their states, the South-West governors had inaugurated the Amotekun outfit whilst the South-East governors also came up with a regional security outfit, Ebube Agu.
In the North Central, Governor Samuel Ortom inaugurated the Benue Guards but the Federal Government through the office of the Inspector General of Police has not licensed any of the regional and state outfits to bear assault rifles.
