President Bola Tinubu on Thursday renewed his push for the creation of state police, saying he had assured United States and European partners that Nigeria would implement decentralised policing to address insecurity. Speaking at the 14th APC National Caucus meeting in Abuja, the President stressed that state police “must happen” to strengthen internal security and governance at the subnational level.
Tinubu also urged governors to allow local government autonomy to function in practice, insisting that funds meant for councils must be released directly to them.
Referring to the Supreme Court judgment on council autonomy, he said, “There is no autonomy without a funded mandate; give them their money directly. That’s the truth. That’s compliance of the Supreme Court.”
Addressing party leaders, Tinubu called for reconciliation and inclusion, while appealing for greater participation of women in party leadership.
Vice President Kashim Shettima warned that sustaining the APC’s dominance would be harder than achieving it, while Senate President Godswill Akpabio decried “organised and orchestrated insecurity” and urged unity, tougher laws against kidnapping, and collective action to confront Nigeria’s security challenges.