— Describes state police as a “child of necessity”
— Governors promise speedy approval
— As Ekiti governor promises 700,000 votes for Tinubu, reaches out to opposition
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, on Wednesday said the National Assembly is working to prevent governors from abusing state police.
The Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, also promised that the state will deliver about 700,000 votes to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
The two spoke to State House correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Fielding questions about fears that governors might use their position to abuse the state police, Senator Bamidele said mechanisms are being developed through a constitutional amendment to prevent or minimize any abuse.
On the concerns, he said: “There will always be fears and concerns, but whether the concerns are well-founded is another issue altogether, and we are not unmindful of them.
“They are legitimate concerns, but let me put it this way: even with the federal police, a governor who is the chief security officer in the state can still use the police in a way he deems possible, depending on how much the system allows manipulation.
“Most importantly, we are putting mechanisms in the law as we amend the constitution that would prevent or minimize instances of abuse by state governors.
“And as much as possible, I believe that not everything can go into the constitution, but what’s important at this point is that all the governors, or most of them, are on the same page with us.
“And that will be demonstrated by the speed with which the bill will receive concurrence in their state houses of assembly when we eventually transmit it. We all must know state police is a child of necessity.”
On opposition to the proposal, Senator Bamidele said it was no longer about political interests, adding, “All of us are on the same page that there’s a need for this.
“In the amendment to the Police Act that will follow, we will spell out more details — details that cannot possibly go into the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Also speaking to journalists about the state’s disposition to the establishment of state police, Governor Oyebanji said the National Economic and Financial Council, comprising the 36 state governors, had met and that most governors had submitted their positions.
He said: “We are ready for state police, and we are grateful to the National Assembly for the constitutional amendments. We are waiting for them to be transmitted to the state houses of assembly.
“The governors have made up their minds that they will give it speedy approval so we can start implementing.”
The governor also spoke about his second-term victory in the recent gubernatorial election, attributing the win to the grace of God and the support of President Tinubu, which he said enabled him to deliver on his promises to the people.
“So these are the two factors that led to the result we saw two weeks ago,” he said.
Governor Oyebanji said he has reached out to the opposition candidates to build unity.
“I’m here with the chairman of the campaign council. The election ended when the winner was declared. I phoned the two other candidates and, with the chairman of the campaign council, we visited one of them and reached an understanding.
“Once I get back to Ekiti, I will visit the other one, and they’ve assured me of their cooperation, because the election and politics have ended and we must return to governance.
“I told them that I will need all of them — their wisdom, suggestions and advice — to ensure we continue to deliver to our people.”
On what he will do differently, the governor said: “I have my job cut out for me. We have a 30-year development plan that I’m following, and we will continue to implement it diligently.
“We are not going to do anything differently, because that 30-year development plan is the basis upon which our yearly budget is built and upon which the manifesto is crafted.”
Answering a question on the chances of the President winning the state in 2027, Governor Oyebanji said: “Well, it’s very bright. Let me paint a scenario: in 2022 when we first contested, we won with 187,000 votes; six months later, when the President ran, and I was a few months in office, we increased it to 210,000. This 2026 governorship election posted 318,000, so you can extrapolate and see that in 2027 a target of 600,000–700,000 is doable.”
