Senate Explains Why FCT Is Excluded From State Police Plan

The Senate says the Federal Capital Territory is not included in the proposed state police structure because Abuja does not have the same constitutional setup as Nigeria’s 36 states.

The explanation came from Yemi Adaramodu, chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, after questions over why the FCT was left out of the state-police framework now moving through the constitutional and executive-law process.

Adaramodu said the FCT has no governor and no State House of Assembly. Instead, it is administered by a minister under the Federal Government, while the National Assembly makes laws for the territory.

That structure, he said, means Abuja cannot run its own police force in the same way a state government would under the proposed arrangement. Daily Post reported him as saying the federal police would remain responsible for the territory.

Punch reported that the clarification comes as the Federal Government prepares the draft Executive National Policing Bill, which President Bola Tinubu is expected to receive on September 3. The bill is meant to set out how the new policing arrangement would operate after the constitutional changes.

The wider plan would allow state Houses of Assembly to make laws on the establishment, organisation, funding and oversight of state police. Punch also reported that the proposal places the main funding burden on states, while allowing federal grants or aid on the recommendation of the National Police Council and with National Assembly approval.

The funding question remains one of the major issues around state police. The proposal allows federal help but does not set a fixed amount or funding formula, meaning poorer states may still face pressure if the plan becomes law.

Sources: Punch and Daily Post.