President Bola Tinubu has called on governors, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to support the proposal for the establishment of state police and full implementation of local government autonomy.
The President made the call on Thursday while speaking at the 14th meeting of the All Progressives Congress National Caucus held at the Conference Centre, State House, Abuja.
President Tinubu urged state governors and members of the party caucus to take a more active role in developments within their respective states, down to the local government level.
The Nigerian Leader stated that he recently held extensive discussions with officials from the United States and Europe, during which he expressed confidence that the passage of state police would be achieved to strengthen national security.
“Get involved in whatever is happening in your various states, up to local government level.
“I had a very long discussion with the US and Europeans, I was bragging to them that definitely we will pass the state police to improve security. They asked me if I’m confident and I said yes, I have a party to depend on. I have a party that will make it happen and if at this level we fail, God forbid, we will not fail.
“I think the reconciliation, the accommodation, the flexibility, is in your hand, all of you, and we are the majority, we are the leaders,” he said.
Effective and Meaningful
President Tinubu stressed that local government autonomy must be effective and meaningful, insisting that councils cannot function independently without direct access to their statutory allocations.
The President advised that funds should be released directly to local governments, in line with the Supreme Court’s directive, noting that true autonomy is impossible without a properly funded mandate.
“Let us equally look at the recent Supreme Court judgment. What can we do with it and how well we can position our country and our party.
“To me, the local government autonomy, it is and must be effective. Let us give them… There is no autonomy without funded mandate, we’ll give them their money directly. That’s the truth. That’s compliance of the Supreme Court. Take leadership seriously,” the Nigerian leader explained.
Invreased Participation of Women
President Tinubu also called for increased participation of women in the APC National Caucus to facilitate gender balance.
Also speaking at the APC National Caucus meeting, Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended President Tinubu for his decisive leadership on national security and regional stability, while welcoming a new wave of high-profile governors into the All Progressives Congress (APC), reinforcing the momentum highlighted earlier by the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.
The Senate President applauded the recent rescue of over 100 kidnapped children, extending prayers for the release of the remaining captives.
“For the release of over 100 children who were kidnapped very recently, and we pray to God to give him the ability and the enablement to release the remaining children to rejoin their families,” he said.
The Senate President highlighted legislative readiness to combat crime, announcing that kidnapping now ranks alongside terrorism, carrying the death penalty once signed into law.
“We have also taken steps in the Senate to take bold decisions aimed at deterring those who want to join banditry, one of which is we have ensured that kidnapping joins the rank and file of terrorism, and therefore kidnappers will now face death sentence once the President assents to the new bill into law,” Akpabio stated.
He urged state governors to ensure the prompt enforcement of penalties for capital offences, drawing on his experience as a former governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Akpabio noted that reluctance to sign execution warrants in the past often undermined justice, he cautioned that delays could enable convicted offenders to escape custody and pose further threats to public safety.
He said; “So the state governors, I will appeal to you to do your best to implement them. When I was a governor, we had issues of people who were not interested in signing warrants for people to be executed for capital offenses. If you don’t do so, you are waiting for them to go on jailbreak and come back to kill more people in the society.”
He expressed condolences to affected families and the nation’s armed forces, mourning those who lost their lives in the line of duty while striving to protect civilians, as well as lives and property across the country.
“May their souls rest in perfect peace. We assure them that we work hand in hand with them and with their families to make sure that they do not stand alone in this moment of grief.”
The Senate President underscored the link between Nigeria’s security and regional stability, drawing attention to President Tinubu’s intervention in Benin Republic.
“Mr. President, if our neighbours are not together and are not stable, Nigeria cannot be stable. So the Senate commends you once again we did that in the chambers for the intervention you had to undertake in Benin Republic to stabilize democracy,” he added.