President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the Nigerian Senate to commence the process of amending the 1999 Constitution to allow for the establishment of state police, as part of broader efforts to strengthen internal security and tackle banditry and insurgency across the country.
Speaking on Wednesday at an interfaith breaking of fast with the leadership and members of the Senate at the State House, Abuja, the President framed the proposed reform as a constitutional obligation anchored on unity and shared responsibility.
President Tinubu said that the time has come for lawmakers to begin the process of embedding state policing in the Constitution, to enable governments at the subnational level to better secure their territories.
“Nigeria 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 fear.
“What 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 didn’t say we should fight,” he explained.
Furthermore, President Tinubu lauded members of the Nigerian Senate as partners in reform, noting that without their collaboration, the ongoing reforms would not have been possible.
“I have a lot of credit for bold reforms. Without your collaborations, without your inspirations, those reforms are not possible. We are reformists together,” he said.
Petrol Subsidy
The Nigerian Leader defended the removal of petrol subsidy and foreign exchange reforms, describing them as steps ‘taken to end monumental corruption.’
“What we gave up and what we stopped is a monumental corruption in subsidy. We gave it up. We don’t want to participate in monumental corruption, in arbitrage, foreign exchange,” he stated.
President Tinubu said that the reforms have laid the foundation for economic stability.
“You don’t have to chase me for dollars. In the past, you could see what Nigeria is today. You should be proud… What we are enjoying is stable economy, prosperity beckoning on us. We just need to work hard for it,” he stated.
Responding to criticisms from opposition figures, the President dismissed claims that he was stifling opposition voices.
“When they accused me of killing oppositions, I didn’t have a gun. I can’t blame anybody from jumping out of a sinking ship if they did,” he said, in apparent reference to recent defections.
President Tinubu described the coincidence of Ramadan and Lent as symbolic of national unity and called for continued harmony between the executive and legislature.
“We 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,” he said.
In his response, President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, assured the President of the chamber’s loyalty and continued cooperation.
Akpabio said; “We have nothing to give to you than to assure you of our loyalty.
“I’m sure you have noticed that nothing you have ever sent to us died in first reading, and it will never happen.”
He said the Senate painstakingly reviews executive proposals to ensure they serve national interest, even when they initially attract criticism.
“We 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,” Akpabio said.
Tax reforms
The Senate President commended President Tinubu’s 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.
He expressed optimism that by 2031, Nigeria would be more prosperous under the Bola Tinubu led government and offered prayers for peace amid what he described as troubles and sponsored insecurity in parts of the country.
The Senate President also thanked the President for appointing former Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as an ambassador, describing it as ‘recognition of legislative talent.’
The interfaith gathering ended with prayers for unity, wisdom, and strength for the nation’s leaders as they navigate security and economic challenges.