…says State Police key to true federalism
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has urged Nigerians to embrace genuine federalism, insisting that the country should stop treating state policing as a risky experiment.
Adebayo argued that it is illogical to entrust the Nigeria Police Force to one individual while claiming elected state governors cannot be trusted to oversee state police.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Adebayo maintained that critics who fear governors would abuse state police powers should explain why the same concern does not apply to the President, who already exercises significant influence over the federal police.
Rejecting the notion that states are incapable of managing their own police, Adebayo said the current arrangement contradicts the principles of federalism, adding “Why should a state have a House of Assembly that makes laws and courts that interpret those laws, yet be denied the power to enforce them through its own police? It simply doesn’t make sense”.
He argued that policing is a fundamental responsibility of government, stressing that every tier of government should have an enforcement agency that matches its constitutional responsibilities.
According to him, the solution lies not in concentrating power in Abuja but in allowing the federal, state and local governments to operate police services within clearly defined constitutional limits.
On funding, Adebayo said constitutional mechanisms already exist to guarantee financial independence, citing the judiciary’s direct funding arrangement as an example that could be adapted for state police without undermining state authority.
He expressed confidence that, if founded on professionalism and the rule of law, some state police commands would eventually surpass the Nigeria Police Force in efficiency and service delivery, adding fresh momentum to the ongoing debate over restructuring Nigeria’s security architecture.
