President Bola Tinubu has charged the Senate to begin the process of amending the 1999 Constitution to make room for the establishment of state police.
According to him, the nation must urgently restructure its security architecture to confront terrorism, banditry and insurgency.
Speaking on Wednesday night at an interfaith breaking of fast with the leadership and members of the Senate at the State House, Abuja, the President said the time had come for the legislators to βstart thinkingβ about embedding state policing in the Constitution to enable governments at subnational levels better secure their territories.
He said: βNigeria is extremely challenged, we are facing terrorism, banditry, insurgency, but you never failed to make a right response to these calls. What I will ask for tonight is for you to start thinking how best to amend the Constitution to incorporate the state police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders, free our children from fearβ.
Few days ago, at an interfaith breaking of fast with governors at the State House, Tinubu declared that state police βcanβt waitβ and βwill not be postponed,β urging preparations for a necessary shift in the nationβs security architecture.
At Wednesdayβs dinner with senators, the President framed the proposed reform as a constitutional obligation anchored on unity and shared responsibility.
According to him: βWhat you have faced in the challenging period of this country, the terrorism and banditry, is causing us havoc and we should pull together, unite in a way that our forefathers contemplated to bring about a constitutional democracy and pull us together. They didnβt say we should fightβ.
Tinubu, however, expressed deep appreciation to the lawmakers for supporting bold and necessary economic reforms.
βI have a lot of credit for bold reforms. Without your collaborations, without your inspirations, those reforms are not possible. We are reformists together,β he said.
The President defended the removal of petrol subsidy and foreign exchange reforms, describing them as steps taken to halt βmonumental corruption.β
βWhat we gave up and what we stopped is a monumental corruption in subsidy. We gave it up. We donβt want to participate in monumental corruption, in arbitrage, foreign exchange,β he stated.
Tinubu stressed that the reforms have laid the foundation for economic stability.
βYou donβt have to chase me for dollars. In the past, you could see what Nigeria is today. You should be proudβ¦ What we are enjoying is stable economy, prosperity beckoning on us. We just need to work hard for it,β he added.
On criticisms from political opponents, the President dismissed claims that he was stifling opposition voices saying βWhen they accused me of killing oppositions, I didnβt have a gunβ¦ I canβt blame anybody from jumping out of a sinking ship if they didβ.
He described the coincidence of Ramadan and Lent as symbolic of national unity and called for continued harmony between the executive and legislature.
βWe are committed to Nigerian entity succeeding. We are committed to make law for the welfare, prosperity of the country. I think we are committed together to govern together,β he said.
Also speaking, President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, assured the President of the red chamberβs loyalty and continued cooperation.
βWe have nothing to give to you than to assure you of our loyalty. Iβm sure you have noticed that nothing you have ever sent to us died in first reading, and it will never happen.β
He said the Senate painstakingly reviews executive proposals to ensure they serve national interest, even when they initially attract criticism.
βWe sit down to painstakingly go through everything that comes before us, and then at the end, we see that it is in the interest of Nigerians, even when the social media is not seeing it,β he said.
Akpabio commended Tinubuβs tax reforms, foreign exchange unification, fuel subsidy removal and the recent electoral amendment, noting that the President promptly assented to the revised Electoral Act when convinced it served national interest.
The Chairman of the National Assembly expressed optimism that by 2031, Nigeria would be more prosperous under Tinubuβs leadership and offered prayers for peace amid βtroubles and sponsored insecurityβ in parts of the country.
The Senate President also thanked Tinubu for appointing former Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as an ambassador, describing it as recognition of legislative talent.
The gathering ended with prayers for unity, wisdom and strength for the nationβs leaders as they navigate security and economic challenges.
Deji Elumoye
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