President Muhammadu Buhari has said that state police is not an option for Nigeria.
He stated this in an exclusive interview with Channels Television, which is expected to air on the TV station Wednesday at 7 pm (WAT).
Buhari’s position is amid the growing calls by governors and other stakeholders in the country, who believe that setting up state police can provide a solution to the raging Insecurity across the country.
Currently, police in Nigeria is controlled by the Federal Government.
According to the TV station, Buhari in the interview, alluded to the propensity for governors to abuse their powers as why he is opposed to state police.
“State police is not an option. Find out the relationship between local government and the Governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the Governor,” Buhari was quoted as saying.
On solutions to the security situation in the country, Buhari said that traditional rulers must play a huge role in bringing peace to communities.
He equally advocated for more dialogue in solving the farmer-herder clashes recorded across the country.
He said, “The role of traditional rulers must not be undermined, because in their areas they know who is who, even by families, not to even talk of individuals.
“So, we have to revert to that system for us to have effective security in the localities.
“For example, there were two Governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo state and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighbouring farms, and eating the crops; I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations. Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong, why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders.”