Constitution Review: Senators United over Council Autonomy, Divided on State Police

*South-east, South-south lawmakers push for additional states

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Members of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, at the end of their two-day retreat on the amendments to the 1999 Constitution, in Kano State, weekend, unanimously agreed to include provisions for the full autonomy of local governments in the country’s constitution.
However, the lawmakers expressed divergent views on the thorny issue of multi-level police.
Equally at the forum, senators from the South-east and South-south geopolitical zones advocated the creation of additional states.
The legislators bared their minds on the side-lines of the retreat, which was organised by the senate panel in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).

The decision to save the third tier of government from total collapse followed the alleged abuse of its role by the state governors.
The decision was in line with the recent Supreme Court verdict and the pledge by Senate President Godswill Akpabio that the National Assembly would tinker with the constitution to legalise the council’s full autonomy.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; a former Chief Whip of the red chamber, Ali Ndume; Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Sani Musa; Senators Abdulfatai Buhari, Osita Izunaso, and Ned Nwoko, in their various submissions insisted that full autonomy for local governments was long overdue.

Bamidele stated that the current constitution placed the administration of local government in the hands of the state government, but the exigency of the current situation had made it necessary to make the third tier of government completely independent.
He said, “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.
“Law is made for men and not men for law. Regardless of what is in our constitution, what is important is that certain realities have come to terms with us.

“So, if we’re talking about local government autonomy, the way some of us have looked at it, in the senate and in the National Assembly, is that we need to complement what the Supreme Court has said.
“The Supreme Court didn’t say anything that is not in our constitution. The Supreme court only gave it some further clarity.”
In his own submission, Izunaso said arguments about possibility of local government chairmen becoming too powerful to the extent of impeaching governors if granted full autonomy, did not hold water.

He stated, “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.
“I am sure it is going to work. I don’t believe that LGs autonomy would empower council chairmen to impeach the governors. The fear does not arise and I don’t even believe in it.”
Buhari backed the position of the senate leader, but stated that the election of council chairmen and the councillors should be conducted by an independent body not constituted by state governments.

He said, “Local government autonomy could only be achieved if their elections are conducted by an independent body. If that is not done, states will continue to siphon their money, through threats, through blackmail.
“If I just put you there as local government chairman, as the governor, definitely you will be answerable to me, but if I am contesting my election, people’s eyes will be on me and when I am able to perform, you can’t force me to take the money to the governor.”
Musa stated that the process of restructuring had started with the Supreme Court 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.”
Nwoko said local government autonomy was very critical, adding, “The local government has almost died, there is really nothing happening there, it is just a mere third tier of government.
“So any reforms that support what the Supreme Court had already done, it will help to reintroduce the ideals of having a local government.”
The senators were however divided on the issue of state police. Those in support said insecurity would be tacked effected with state police, while others said political opponents would be targeted by state governors.

Musa, who supported the idea, said, “When we are talking about state police, every state in this country is facing one insecurity or the other and I believe that if we look at the issue of state police, it good for us.”
However, Ndume said what the country needed was to increase the manpower of the police and improve their welfare for effective policing. He said state police would be abused by the governors.
Ndume 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?
“Also adopt the United Nations recommendation on policing. We are about 230 million Nigerians, and we have less than 400,000 police, less than 200,000 armed forces and all our security agencies and paramilitary are barely 1 million or more. We don’t have army or police reserve and you are saying we should have a state police.

“So let’s recruit more hands into the security agencies, train, equip, arm and motivate them because the number is grossly inadequate and not because there are no people interested in joining the police but provision is not made.
“When you say you want state police and you don’t pay the civil servant even the minimum wage, where are you going to get the money to pay them?
“So the truth of the matter is, let’s face the problem. Let’s train, equip and arm them. It doesn’t matter whether it is a federal or state police. Provide adequate security for the people.”
Both Nwoko and Izunaso maintained that the creation of additional states in their geopolitical zones was long overdue.
Izunaso said, “The most important agenda the South East Caucus in the National Assembly has is to push for equity and justice.
“We need an additional state in the South-east so that we come to terms with other zones in the country that all have six each.”

Nwoko said, “The Anioma state creation, for me, is something that has to be done. If that is the only state that is created in this period, I will not be surprised. Agitation for Anioma state had been going on for almost 50 years, it is the oldest agitation for a state.”