Senate Defends State Police Bill

The Senate has defended the passage of the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to create state police, saying the proposal is driven by national security needs rather than political considerations.

NEWSNGR had earlier reported that the bill was passed on Wednesday after more than two-thirds of senators voted in support.

In a statement on Sunday, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, described the bill as “a child of necessity and not of political expediency, as well as a product of national consensus and not of cynicism.”

He said the creation of state police had become urgent because of the country’s security challenges.

Bamidele said the proposal came from memoranda submitted to the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution and was subjected to wide consultations.

“At each level of our consultation, nearly all stakeholders embraced the State Police Bill in the light of stark realities we are facing today,” he said.

He added that the National Assembly consulted the Executive, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), state assembly speakers, police leadership and other stakeholders.

Bamidele said the bill received support across party lines in both chambers of the National Assembly.

“Even though the APC is the majority, there are members of opposition parties, PDP, ADC, NDC and Labour Party, that exercised their discretion in favour of the Bill, mainly in the national interest and not on parochial basis.

“In the Senate, for instance, 84 out of 109 members voted clause by clause in support of the Bill. This accounted for 77.06 per cent approval at the Senate alone,” he said.

He urged opposition parties to offer constructive ideas on national security, saying disagreements should not stop them from supporting reforms that could promote peace and stability.