The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, stated that the timing of the state police bill is coming at the wrong time.
He called for caution, arguing that the discussions about the matter should be shelved until after the 2027 general elections.
NEWSNGR reports that the activist shared his reservations on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
He maintained that the timing of the bill and deliberations about state police is coming at the wrong time, especially with the election months away.
He said, “I would say that we wait until the elections are over. The election is a major distraction at this time; the election is months away, and everybody is going to be more interested in how to campaign, how to choose their candidates, and how to ensure the elections are free and fair.
“To now insert state policing, a very major, major constitutional change of fundamental federal structural change that could lead to structural damage or that could lead to interference with the election, is not the best time.
“That is the only issue I have with it being rushed. So when we are done with the elections, we can commence immediately with a conversation about state policing and who is where in terms of breaking down the architecture in the country.”
According to him, there should be ample time for Nigerians to debate the issue and make inputs, citing the critical nature of the matter.
He said: “I also align, and I agree with those people who say this is suspicious, that this is being rushed and it’s not going through proper parliamentary procedures for the enactment of a major law like this, because this is a major constitutional change that we are going to experience.
“And that it should have been open to public debate. It should have gone across the states so that the public can make input, but we are being rushed and considering that the election year [is around the corner].”
Sowore also expressed concern over how governors will handle state police, claiming that “Nigerian state governors are not trustworthy to be handed, you know, security personnel of this scale.”
The AAC presidential candidate said he is concerned about it “so that we don’t end up in the middle of elections with state police in the hands of these very ravenous political juggernauts who are called governors, apparently some of the most powerful politicians in the country?”
