INSECURITY: ‘Weaknesses in our structure, constitution have never been so pronounced’

Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on Thursday stated that Nigeria needs to promulgate laws ensuring the decentralisation of policing to aid security nationwide.

According to the lawmaker, this can be achieved within 10 days with the right political will and bipartisan approach.

Ekweremadu made this assertion in Abuja during the inauguration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Committee on Electoral Reforms and Constitution Amendment at the party’s national headquarters.

He further lamented, that the weaknesses in the nation’s security and political structure, as well as the Constitution being operated, have never been as pronounced as they are today.

He explained that the security of lives and property has practically collapsed due to the absence of state police.

The Enugu State senator said: “I am equally sponsoring a Bill for the creation of State Police in the current Senate. Unfortunately, we do not appear ready yet or see the sense of urgency to stem the tide of insecurity or rebuild our economy through the decentralisation or devolution of power.

“With the right political will, the amendments to the Constitution to achieve decentralised police and secure lives and property can be achieved in 10 days”.

He also noted that there was a general consensus that the current centralized system of policing has failed woefully.

 

Read also: Buratai blames Nigeria’s worsening insecurity on ‘ungovernable spaces’

He said, “The weaknesses in our structure and the Constitution we operate, have never been as pronounced as they are today.

“Some of us forewarned that feeding bottle federalism would only continue to increase our appetite for wealth sharing and guzzling, kill our propensity to create wealth, make us poorer. It is regrettable to say that the chicken has come home to roost.

“I further call on our party faithful, the media, Civil Society, and well-meaning Nigerians, to put narrow political, partisan, ethnic, religious, and sectional interest aside, and seize the opportunity of the ongoing constitution amendment exercise to immediately pull our nation back from the brinks.

“So long as we run a dysfunctional centralised policing, for that long will our insecurity-induced pains and losses continue to rise.

“In the absence of state police, the security of lives and property has practically collapsed.

“The community policing initiative is illusory, cosmetic, ephemeral, inorganic, and will certainly not change anything.”

In his address, the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, urged the leadership of the National Assembly to represent their constituencies.

“Look beyond political parties lines. Do the right thing so that there will be peace in the country. If the laws are obeyed we will not have frictions,” he urged them.

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