FG too big, needs trimming, Ekweremadu says

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has said that the Federal Government as presently constituted is too big and needs urgent adjustment to be able to function as a true federal system of government.

The senator, who argued that it was meaningless for the country to continue to run as it is at the moment, added that decentralising the police and accepting state police would go a long way to proffer some of the needed solutions to the country’s security challenges.

Ekweremadu made these observations during an interview with newsmen, further explaining that while the states had little functions they perform, the Federal Government remains overburdened with obligations.

He said, “We believe that the Federal Government as presently constituted is too big and we need to adjust it. In a situation where you have in the concurrent list only about 16 items, most of the other things are on the exclusive list. It doesn’t make sense.

“So, we need to find a way of trimming the Federal Government to the benefit of the component states so that some of these issues don’t become federal issues and that is the idea of federalism. We are looking at that; things like arbitration, agriculture, environment and such issues. Some of these things should go to the concurrent list and even police.”

Read also: 2017 BUDGET: FG to release N350bn for capital projects –Adeosun

On the security situation, Ekweremadu contended that states have their different security challenges which require different policing.

He canvassed a scenario whereby a commission will be set up to oversee the state police just like the National Judicial Council (NJC) oversees the judiciary, so as to checkmate state governments from hijacking the force in their states, as being feared by those who are opposed to state police.

Read also: BAKARE: Buhari may not be the president Nigeria needs

“We cannot decentralise the police now because some people are still opposed to it but I think it is beginning to make sense that you cannot be able to deal with our security situation in Nigeria except we change our security architecture.

“There is no place in this world where there is a federal system, has a unitary type of policing which we have now and that is why we will continue to get it wrong in solving our security problems. It is not going to work until we change the architecture of our policing: a federal state as big as Nigeria must have to adopt a decentralised police.

“This means that in Sokoto they will create their kind of Police, in Kano they will create their own. The kind of Police that will work in Kano may not necessarily work in Enugu. But we need to first take Nigerians to the level where they will understand this,” he said.

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now