Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has called for financial autonomy and investment in modern security infrastructure for state police services when created. He recently had his say during the town hall themed, “Building a National Consensus for State Police and National Security,” organised by Arise News in Abuja.
Emphasizing the need for state police to take into account the need for national standards, national support and local decision-making, Gov. Mbah stated that prioritising security via adequate funding for state police services would enable those responsible for security at the subnational level to deliver the expected results.
The Governor reiterated the need for adequate funding to be able to sustain the state policing system.
His words, “The importance of funding the state police system effectively cannot be overemphasised.
And having a State Police Service Commission that has a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund is in order.
Many other institutions in the states – the judiciary and the legislature – have the first-line charge.
The key thing is providing enough funding to be able to sustain the state policing system.
If the Enugu experience is anything to go by, we came into office recognising that we had made commitments to eradicate poverty, to grow the economy exponentially, to make Enugu State the preferred destination for business, living, and investment.
We immediately recognised that if we didn’t address the security challenges, we could not achieve those objectives.
Therefore, we had to invest hugely in technology, in building a Safe City Surveillance System with CCTV cameras that are AI-enabled, as well as having both static and mobile cameras. All these come with huge costs.
But the human element is also important, which is essentially why we had to set up the Distress Response Squad (DRS). As a governor, you want immediate action because matters of security are measured in minutes. You must be in a position where you are able to act swiftly.
So, you must build the capability to first nip crime in the bud. But where there has been a breach, you must have the capacity to act swiftly. And if the Enugu experience is anything to go by, that essentially is what we did that enabled us to drive down violent crime by over 90 per cent.
Therefore, when you talk about funding, you can see that the states are already carrying quite a huge burden in terms of funding, because you are investing in technology.
We also ensured that there is a unified communication system between the agencies. Our Command and Control Centre houses all the security agencies in the state – the police, the army, and the Department of State Services. They all have a channel of communication.
So, in amending the Constitution, we must, by all means, make sure that it is not verbose. There should be a provision that allows us to reform the system in future, if needed, when we have tried it.
By the way, there is this idea that governors are likely to abuse state police and that we should, therefore, do as much as we can to water down their powers.
Nobody is a governor forever. We are also going to one day leave that office and become regular citizens. We just want to be sure that there is enough operational authority given to the governors so that you do not give someone a performance target without providing him or her with the control needed to achieve the required outcome.”
