President Muhammadu Buhari has ruled out the creation of State Police as part of efforts to improve the security situation in the country.
Speaking late on Wednesday night, the president said State Police is not an option for Nigeria, contending that state governors have the propensity to abuse it.
“State police is not an option,” he said in an exclusive interview on privately owned Channels TV. “Find out the relationship between local government and the governors. Is the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally?” he asked.
“Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the governors.”
Nigeria is currently having its worst peace-time insecurity as armed groups roam the country’s highway, farming communities and even towns and villages, kidnapping people for ransom while killing others.
Buhari’s rejection of state police drew the ire of the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party.
In his response to the president’s comments, PDP’s National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu accused Buhari said Buhari was comfortable with the state of insecurity in the country. According to him, Buhari’s position that state police is not an option for the country, was an indication that the situation would not change soon.
“It appears the continued killings in some localities of Nigeria, particularly in the North and more specifically in President Buhari’s home state of Katsina, may not matter to him with his statement that state police is not an option,” Ayu said in a statement he issued after the broadcast.
“Watching President Muhammadu Buhari this evening on Channels TV during an interview session was a gratuitous waste of time because there was nothing new coming from the president.
“As has been said by many before now, to expect anything new from our president would be a misplaced and unfortunate expectation.
“From the economy to insecurity, killing of innocent farmers by terrorists (which some erroneously term farmer/herder clashes) and other sundry issues, President Buhari honoured his calling as a president who has nothing new to offer,” he said.
When asked during the interview to use one word to describe the PDP, Buhari had said “Failure”.
