Constitution Review: Senators Reach Consensus on LG Autonomy, Debate Continues on State Police

Nigerian senators have reached a consensus to include full autonomy for local governments in the nation's constitution. However, they were divided on the establishment of state police as a measure to tackle insecurity.

This decision emerged during a retreat organized by the Senate Committee on Constitution Review in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Kano.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele emphasized the necessity of making local governments completely independent due to the current exigencies. He stated, "The independence or the autonomy of our local governments cannot be taken away. The debate is raging as to whether or not local government should be considered as a tier of government."

Supporting this stance, Senator Osita Izunaso dismissed concerns that granting full autonomy to local governments would empower council chairmen to impeach governors. He remarked, "When we started in this country, local governments had full autonomy then and they were developing their areas. I believe in full autonomy of the local government."

Senator Abdulfatai Buhari advocated for the election of council chairmen and councillors by an independent body, not constituted by state governments, to prevent states from siphoning local government funds through threats and blackmail. He noted, "Local government autonomy could only be achieved if their elections are conducted by an independent body."

Senator Sani Musa highlighted that the process of restructuring had begun with the Supreme Court's verdict on local government autonomy. He said, "When you are talking about restructuring, we should be able to give the local governments the autonomous power to be able to run their administration from the grassroots level so that the impact of governance can reach the grassroots."

Despite the agreement on local government autonomy, senators were split on the issue of state police. Proponents argued that state police would effectively address insecurity, while opponents feared it would be abused by state governors to target political opponents.

Senator Ali Ndume opposed the idea, suggesting instead to increase the manpower and welfare of the existing police force. He stated, "Personally, I don’t support state police. Right now, we have less than 400,000 police nationwide, and you are clamouring for creation of state police. Why don’t you increase the number and Train, Equip, Arm and Motivate them, what I call TEAM?"

Additionally, senators from the Southeast and South-South geopolitical zones pushed for the creation of additional states to ensure equity and justice. Senator Osita Izunaso and Senator Ned Nwoko both emphasized the need for new states in their regions, with Nwoko highlighting the long-standing agitation for Anioma State.