Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe says funds meant for state police should not be placed under the control of state governments, urging a funding structure backed by constitutional safeguards.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has advised the Federal Government against placing funds meant for state police under the control of state governors, arguing that the financing of any future state police system should be insulated from direct state government control.
Abaribe, who represents Abia South Senatorial District, made the point as debate around the proposed establishment of state police continues to gather momentum. According to reports, he said the funds should be guaranteed by the Constitution and paid directly to the commission that would manage state policing rather than pass through governors.
His warning comes at a time when the National Assembly is considering safeguards around the structure of state police, including how to prevent political abuse of the system by state executives. That wider debate has increasingly moved beyond whether Nigeria should have state police to the equally important question of how such a system would be funded, supervised and protected from misuse.
In that context, Abaribe’s intervention speaks to one of the central anxieties around the proposal: that a state-controlled policing system could become vulnerable if governors also exercise unchecked control over its finances. His position, as reported, is that the funding mechanism must be constitutionally secured and institutionally separated from state governments.
For now, Abaribe’s message to the Federal Government is clear — if state police is to emerge, the structure for financing it should not be placed in the hands of governors.