Constitution Amendment: Speakers Frown At Exclusion Of State Policing From 44 Alterations

Speakers of State Houses of Assembly have frowned at the exclusion of State policing from the 44 resolutions of the National Assembly relating to amendment of the 1999 constitution.

Gathered in Ibadan for a general meeting, held on Saturday, the Conference of Speakers hinged its call for reconsideration of having state policing in the constitution on the prevailing security challenges in the country.

The Conference of Speakers consequently directed its committee on constitution review to further liaise with the National Assembly with a view to ensuring State policing is reconsidered.

In the meeting communiqué read by the chairman of the Conference of Speakers and Bauchi State Speaker, Honourable Abubakar Suleiman, the heads of legislature across the country frowned that insecurity had assumed a disturbing dimension.

In particular, the conference condemned last Monday’s terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train which left people killed, some kidnapped and others injured.

The Speakers consequently called on security agencies and the federal government to go after the terrorists and ensure that the kidnapped passengers are rescued unhurt.

This is just as the conference charged the federal government and security agencies to take measures to avert future occurrences.

In his remarks, Host and Speaker of the Oyo Assembly, Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin said it was imperative for the Houses of Assembly to hit the ground running regarding considering the 44 alteration bills.

Among the about 30 Speakers present at the conference were: Honourable Funminiyi Afuye (Ekiti); Honourable Abdullahi Bawa (Niger); Honourable Kennedy Ibeh (Imo); Honourable Yakubu Salihu (Kwara); Honourable Mudasiru Obasa (Lagos); Honourable Joseph Albasu (Taraba); Honourable Nasiru Magarya (Zamfara); Honourable Molid Lolo (Kebbi).

In his remarks, Makinde bemoaned that the issues of resource control, state police and affirmative action for women have not been subjected to robust debate.

According to Makinde, Nigerians want state governors as truly Chief Security Officers of their states, assuring that governors will sort out salaries and welfare of security agents if state policing becomes part of the constitution.

On local government autonomy, Makinde charged the state houses of Assembly to critically look at the capability of local government system to get enough resources to adequately cater for their affairs if granted full autonomy.

Makinde argued that, presently, some local government areas in urban areas can barely get enough resources to pay the salaries of staff and attend to their affairs.

In his presentation during the technical session of the conference, consultant to the conference of Speakers, Mr John Mutu had identified the issue of local government autonomy as the most critical alteration that greatly affects Nigerians.

He noted that either local government is scrapped or strengthened by States freeing up responsibilities for local governments to have more revenue and allowing them direct access to their funds.

Mutu held that both local government areas in urban and rural areas can generate resources to cater for their affairs if state allows them access to taxes and several other legitimate revenue sources.

He, however, tasked state houses of Assembly to put the 44 alterations to public hearings, while urging them to organise public hearings for them to have all-inclusive resolutions to be sent back to the National Assembly.