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Senator representing the Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has advised the federal government not to place funds meant for state policing in the hands of the states governments.
Abaribe further noted that funds for state policing must be backed by the constitution and must go directly to the commission established for that purpose.
He spoke during his contribution to the legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police; and for Related Matters (Sixth Alteration),” on the floor of the Senate.
The lawmaker explained that proper channelling of state police funds would prevent a repetition of what happened to local government funds from happing.
He said: “Funds that most be go to the state police commission must be guaranteed by the constitution and go directly to the commission so that what we are seeing today with regards to local government funds, we don’t have to see it with the police because if we do that then for people like us who come from the Southeast where two or three kilometers you see 10 checkpoints, you will now have hundred checkpoints by state people who have to fend for themselves if they don’t have the requisite funding.
“I used to be one of those who is against state police but today we know that we have very serious insecurity problems that can only be solved by thinking outside the box.
“Today, we are aware that states have far more funding than before and we also had the time in which states didn’t have as much money, which means that he who pays the piper will also detect the tune.”
State Police Funds: What happened to LG funds must be prevented – Abaribe
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