*Order NSA, DSS, IGP to clamp down on hoarders of food items
*Say no to food importation*Approve training of forest rangers to man forests
*President: We must not allow speculators, hoarders, rent seekers to sabotage availability of food to Nigerians
*Forecloses setting up commodities price control board
*State Police: What the constitution says
*Tells govs to allow CBN governor manage nation’s monetary policy
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The federal government and the 36 states yesterday agreed on the need to establish state police to curtail growing insecurity across the country. This was the highlight of a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and governors of the 36 states of the federation, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.
The meeting also directed the security chiefs, especially the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi; and Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to clampdown on those hoarding commodities and bring them to book.
The president and the governors discussed the possibility of improving the numeric strength and training of forest rangers to equip them with improved capacity to keep the country’s forests and borders safe.
The meeting also had in attendance Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
State governors that attended the meeting included the governors of Ekiti, Delta, Borno, Lagos, Kwara, Nasarawa, and Edo.
Others were governors of Yobe, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Plateau, Kaduna, Sokoto, Niger, Taraba, Adamawa, Cross River, Ogun, and Enugu states.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said far-reaching decisions were taken, including consideration of the need for the establishment of state police.
Constitution amendment would, however, be required to allow for the establishment of state police.
According to the information minister, there will be series of meetings to fine tune the modalities for setting up state police.
Idris said, “But now, there is also a discussion around the issue of state police. The federal government and state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police.
“Of course, this is still going to be further discussed, a lot of work still has to be done in that direction. But the federal government and state governments are agreeing to the necessity of having state police.
“Now, this is a significant shift. But, like I said, more works need to be done in that direction. A lot of meetings will have to happen between different governments and sub-nationals to see the modalities of achieving this.”
Speaking on other outcomes of the meeting, Idris, said the meeting was at the instance of the president to intimate the state governors on recent developments, and what the federal government was doing. It was also to hear from the state governors and get their input on issues of development in the country, the minister said.
He explained, “A lot of issues were discussed about the security situation in the country. The apparent food issue that the media has also been reporting about and some other measures that will help in improving the state of our nation.
“Now, the first point is that the governors and Mr. President have agreed to set up a committee to deepen the conversation that has happened at the just-concluded meeting.
Of course, you know that it is impossible to complete most of the issues that were raised at the meeting. So it is going to be a continuous one.
“Secondly, Mr. President and the governors have agreed that these kinds of meetings will continue in the interest of our nation.”
Idris added, “It is important that all the time, the federal government and the state governors, who are leaders at the subnational level, continue to engage and interact collectively so that issues of national importance will continue to be addressed, and we don’t leave room for any speculation or for people who may seize the opportunity to say things that are not in the interest of our country.
“First, the National Security Adviser, the Director General of the Department of State Services, and the Inspector General of Police have been directed to coordinate with the state governors to look at the issue of those hoarding commodities.
“At this point, the nation requires foods to be brought out to the people so that we can control prices and put food on the table of most Nigerians. Other commodity traders are busy hoarding these commodities so that Nigerians will suffer or they will make more money as a result.
“So the governors and Mr. President have taken this decision that security agencies will collaborate with the state governors to ensure that this ends.
“Number two, a decision has also been taken that in the interest of our country, there will be no need for food importation at this point. Nigeria has the potential to feed itself and even be a net exporter of food items to other countries. And we do not also want to reverse some of the progress we have seen in terms of food production in this country.”
Idris also addressed the current economic difficulty in the country, saying, “What we’re seeing now is just a temporary difficulty that will soon go away. Therefore, the solution to it is by continuous investment in agriculture so that food can be made available to all Nigerians.
“Of course, you know that Mr. President has declared emergency in agriculture many months ago. Therefore, part of the measures that he has taken is to ensure that investments, more investments, are made in this sector for the benefit of our people.”
The minister said the governors agreed to join hands with the president to deepen their own investment in the agricultural sector so that more food will be made available to Nigerians.
He stated, “Of course, this investment is not just in crop production, it is also in livestock development and management.
“All these is to ensure that food is available.”
Idris said, “In the area of security, Mr President and the state governors have all agreed that at this point, we are seeing significant improvement in the security situation around the country, of course.
“This is not to say that the security situation has been solved completely. But we have seen significant improvement.
“In Borno, for example, areas where farmers have not been able to cultivate as a result of security, those farmers have now returned to their farms.
“It is also the same thing in Jigawa and many parts of the country. The governors, including the governor of Plateau State, have also attested to the fact that despite all the challenges that we are having, there appears to be improvement in security in these areas.
“Of course, as I said, the situation has not been completely solved. But we are seeing a positive movement towards a secure Nigeria.
“Mr. President and the governors also thank the security agencies for the work they are doing. Some of them even pay the supreme price with their lives to ensure that Nigerians have a secure environment. They have thanked Mr. President for all that he’s doing. And they have also asked him to do more so that at the end of the day, we will have a completely secured Nigeria.
“Now, in this direction. Mr. President and the state governors have also discussed the possibility of improving the numeric strength of forest rangers to train them so that they can keep our forests and our borders very safe.”
Idris, who was in company with the governors of Plateau, Kaduna, and Delta states, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communication, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, further said Tinubu also called on the state governors to join hands with the federal government to do more for the people, especially the youth population.
According to him, “There is going to be a joint programme between the state governments and the federal government to ensure that our teeming youth population are gainfully employed. So that we will reduce to the barest minimum the issue of unemployment in the country.
“At the end of it all, the 36 state governors and Mr. President are all on one page, irrespective of political differences, to ensure that Nigeria remains peaceful. Nigeria remains united. Nigeria remains prosperous, going forward. And this kind of conversation, like I said, will continue to be deepened. Engagements between the federal government and the state governors will continue.”
Speaking earlier at the meeting, Tinubu ruled out the possibility of establishing commodities price control to monitor prices of food items in the country.
The president’s stance was at variance with the position of the vice president, who had on Tuesday hinted that the government was considering the possibility of setting up a price control board.
Shettima had at the opening of a two-day high-level strategic meeting on climate change, food systems, and resource mobilisation, at the Banquet Hall of State House, Abuja, said, “Our solution to the potential food crisis has become immediate, medium, and long-term strategies. The short-term strategy entails revitalising food supply through specific interventions, like the distribution of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to counteract the effects of subsidy removal; fostering collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources for efficient farmland irrigation, ensuring year-round food production; and addressing price volatility by establishing a National Commodity Board.
“This board will continually assess and regulate food prices, maintaining a strategic food reserve for stabilising prices of crucial grains and other food items.”
Tinubu, at yesterday’s meeting, also had a piece of advice for state governors. He told them to allow the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to carry out the mandate of managing the country’s monetary policy.
According to a release issued yesterday by presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, the president declared, “We must ensure that speculators, hoarders, and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians.
“What I will not do is to set a price control board. I will not also approve the importation of food. We should be able to get ourselves out of the situation we found ourselves in, because importation will allow rent seekers to perpetrate fraud and mismanagement at our collective expense. We would rather support farmers with the schemes that will make them go to the farm and grow more food for everyone in the country.
“We must also look at the rapid but thoughtful implementation of our livestock development and management plans, including dairy farming and others.”
Tinubu urged the governors to trust the CBN with the management of the country’s monetary policy, and he emphasised the importance of allowing designated institutions to fulfil their mandates effectively.
He said the “cacophony of postulations” on the fluctuation of foreign exchange rate was unduly affecting the market negatively.
The president stated, “Every one of us cannot be an expert. If we have given someone an assignment, let us allow them to do it. If they cannot do it, then we find a way to quickly get them out of the system.”
Tinubu told the governors to always make the welfare and prosperity of the people a priority of their development programmes, assuring them that the federal government will continue to work diligently to improve the country’s revenue profile.
At the meeting, the president and the governors emphasised the importance of working together to address issues of insecurity, food security, and out-of-school children.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, who is also Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), expressed appreciation to Tinubu for convening the meeting and affirmed the governors’ commitment to partnering with the federal government on development issues.
State Police: What the Constitution Says
Item 45, Part I of the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, Section 214 (1), vests exclusively the management and control of the police in Nigeria In the federal government.
However, over the years there have been calls to decentralise the police to allow state governments to establish their own police organisations to better secure the country.
For that to happen, the constitution must be amended.
Section 9 of the constitution states that the National Assembly can only pass an Act to amend the constitution when the proposal is supported by two-thirds majority of all the members of each chamber (that is 72 senators and 240 members of the House of Representatives), and approved by the resolutions of at least two-thirds of the 36 states Houses of Assembly.
State police can only become a reality if section 214 (1) of the constitution, which gives the federal government exclusive control of the police force, is amended to allow for the creation of state police in Nigeria.
Chapter 6, Part 3, Section 214, 1999 Constitution, as amended, which deals with establishment of the Nigeria Police Force, provides that there shall be no other police force except as already provided for in the laws of the federation.
It states, “There shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.
“Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Nigeria Police Force shall be organised and administered in accordance with such provisions as may be prescribed by an act of the National Assembly.
“The members of the Nigeria Police shall have such powers and duties as maybe conferred upon them by law.
“The National Assembly may make provisions for branches of the Nigeria Police Force forming part of the armed forces of the Federation or for the protection of harbours, waterways, railways and air fields.”
