I am still opposed to state police but… – Bagudu

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has said his opposition to state policing in Nigeria has not changed but he concedes to the stance of President Bola Tinubu who is promoting state policing, which many believe may help address some of the security challenges facing the country.

Nigeria currently runs a unitary policing system controlled by the federal government. However, President Tinubu and state governors recently agreed on the need for states to have their police and agreed to work together to implement it. Discussions are ongoing and there would be a need to amend some of Nigeria’s laws to accommodate state police.

In 2012, Mr Bagudu, then a senator, said Nigeria was not ready to operate state police. His main argument, similar to that of many critics of the proposal, is that it would be abused by state governors, many of whom have shown the penchant to be intolerant of criticism.

Despite serving as a state governor for two terms (in Kebbi, 2015-2023) and now as a minister, Mr Bagudu said his position has not changed but he defers to the stance of his principal, President Tinubu.

“President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu understands dissent,” Mr Bagudu told PREMIUM TIMES in an exclusive interview. “I’m not changing my view. I agree with him. But I have the right to express my view.”

Mr Bagudu indicated that the Tinubu administration is pushing the policy because some government officials raised superior arguments to his.

“I’m not flip-flopping. I was opposed to it as a senator, but superior argument and logic emerged,” the minister said.

At a recent dialogue on state police organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review last month, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, also opposed the idea of state police.

Mr Egbetokun, instead, proposed that the Nigerian government should merge the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Commission (NSCDC) as departments under the federal police to increase its manpower as well as funding.

“I was at a dialogue on state policing,” Mr Bagudu said. “Even the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives spoke about many issues that need to be appreciated in order that we can do it right. So it’s not even whether for or against, there are issues about state police and that is what is important.”

The state police bill currently before the National Assembly seeks the removal of police from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.

The exclusive list contains all items that only the federal government can act upon while the concurrent list contains issues that both the federal government and state governments can act on.

In the last assembly, the state police bill was rejected by the lawmakers, who felt that state governors may abuse state police. However, in the face of rising insecurity and the support of the president, there seems to be a favourable disposition to the bill by the current assembly. 

In the interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Bagudu also spoke about the economy, budget ‘padding’ of President Tinubu’s first full-year budget by the National Assembly, the 2023 elections that brought Mr Tinubu to power and other matters.