The Senate has explained that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was excluded from the proposed state police framework because it does not have a governor or a State House of Assembly.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, said on Friday that the FCT remained under the direct administration of the Federal Government and therefore could not operate a state police structure.
Adaramodu, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH, said the administrative arrangement in the FCT differed fundamentally from that of Nigeria’s 36 states.
He explained that the territory is headed by a minister who operates under the Federal Executive Council, while legislative functions for the FCT are performed by the National Assembly.
‘I have heard many people raise a lot of questions on why the Federal Capital Territory is not among the plan for state police. The FCT issue is different. It is under the Federal Government,’ he said.
‘Again, the FCT does not have a governor. It is run by a minister who subscribes to the Federal Executive Council. It is from this FEC that the FCT takes directives and its administrative relevance.’
The senator added that the FCT had no legislature of its own, meaning that the National Assembly exercised legislative powers over the territory.
‘So, the federal capital does not have an assembly. It is the National Assembly that legislates for the FCT. This is why it can’t be different from what the Federal Government does. Therefore, the federal police are in charge,’ Adaramodu said.
His clarification comes as the Federal Government advances plans for a new policing architecture amid growing demands for the decentralisation of policing and constitutional recognition of state police.
The Presidency had announced that President Bola Tinubu was expected to receive the draft Executive National Policing Bill on 3 September as part of efforts to reform the country’s policing system.
The Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this after a meeting of the group at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila also unveiled a public information portal through which Nigerians can submit memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation before its consideration by the President and eventual transmission to the National Assembly.
While the constitutional amendments would provide the legal basis for the establishment of state police, the Executive Bill is expected to set out the operational framework for implementing the new policing system.
The proposed arrangement has, however, raised questions over the funding and administration of state police.
Under the constitutional amendments, State Houses of Assembly would be empowered to legislate on the establishment, organisation, administration, funding and oversight of state police forces.
The states would bear the primary responsibility for funding their police forces, although the framework would allow for federal grants or other forms of assistance.
A proposed new Section 216A provides that the Federal Government may provide grants or aid to state police on the recommendation of the National Police Council, subject to approval by the National Assembly.
The provision does not stipulate a minimum federal contribution, funding formula or guaranteed revenue allocation for state police.
Consequently, states would be expected to finance their police forces while federal assistance would depend on a recommendation by the National Police Council and subsequent approval by the National Assembly.
The National Police Council, chaired by the President and comprising senior federal and state officials, is therefore expected to play a significant role in determining the nature of federal support available to state police.
The FCT, however, would remain outside the proposed arrangement under its existing constitutional structure, according to Adaramodu.
Unlike the states, the territory does not have a governor or a State House of Assembly and is administered through the Federal Government.
The clarification is likely to keep the FCT’s policing arrangement closely linked to its distinct constitutional status as the proposed state police framework undergoes further legislative consideration and harmonisation.
