Ex- IGP tasks governors on State Police
By Ali Baba-Inuwa
A former Inspector- General of Police, Alhaji Sulaiman Abba, has tasked Governors to ensure adequate recruitment, training and equipment for the proposed State Police, if they want to succeed.
Abba, who served at the 17th IGP under the regime of former President Goodluck Jonathan, said this at the unveiling of his Campaign for the Jigawa Central seat of the National Assembly for 2027 general election, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Dutse.
He said that the idea of the State Police had come to stay, as many Nigerians we’re in support.
“Believe you me, there nothing anybody can do to stop the State Police now, so it is not the issue of my own opinion because it is no more that.
“You remember that when the bill got to the National Assembly, 98 percent of the lawmakers supported it, even those who walked out, just a few of them I think about 10 lawmakers, they said they walked out not because they were not in support of the bill, but they only said that they were not happy with the procedure.
“So what can you do again, it’s the matter of the majority, so it is not about my opinion anymore,” Abba said.
The former police boss said that the state governors were in full support of the state police because they were concerned with maintaining public order in their states.
“And in any case all the state governors are interested, I suspect that they are interested because and I believe I will be correct to say that they are concerned with public order, if you are a governor what you are concern with every day is public order, for people to be able to go out and conduct their local businesses, go to their homes and sleep with their two eyes closed, if they have state police it means public order is in their hands,” he said.
Abba said that the state governors had the keys to the success of state police.
“The problem with the state police is only if the governors failed to take it seriously and make sure that enough police officers were employed and get them properly trained and they get them equipped adequately.
“Believe you me, any governor who does that has success, and has security in his state.
“And it will be bye bye to insecurity.
“Any governor who does not do that, I will leave him to fate and in any case, you should also know that there is provision in the constitution for emergency rules, so if he does that and allow insecurity to get out of control, the federal government will suspend him and take over the control of the state,” he said.
Abba said that he was vying for the Jigawa Central seat because he believed he had the qualifications.
“The Senate is not for everybody, it is for matured mines who have had the experience, who have known governance, who knows what is done and who can do it and make sure it’s done better, so I will make sure there’s improvement in terms of education
“I know the problem with the agricultural sector because I’m a farmer, I have been a farmer right from my years in service, because the service rules allow that.
“I’m not going to be antagonistic to the government in the state and in any case I’m hoping that my own party will form the next government in the state. So I can walk there and say this is how you can accelerate agricultural development,” he said.
He said that individuals vying for the National Assembly seats must be qualified enough.
“Time has come that we must consider three things before sending anybody to the National Assembly.
‘We must make sure that he has good educational background, he must have good experience in governance or must have excell in any of his chosen field or endeavor, he must be a person who has resilience because the assembly is the collection of representatives of the states in the federation, so he must have resilience enough to say no when he has to say no, or say yes when he has to say yes.
“The Senate is where very important laws are made.
“I don’t look like the type of person who will go there and sit down, I don’t look like a lazy person who will go there and start sleeping and I think I’m educated enough to know matters that require hard decisions.
“The Senate is not just about Nigeria, sometimes decisions are made on Nigeria’s foreign policy there among others, my degree in history and law have exposed me social life to politics and so many things,” he said.
He promised to provide quality representation at the National Assembly, if elected.
“I think when I say qualitative representation I know the meaning.
“I’m not in the opposition, it’s a PDP sit the current senator won on the party’s ticket, so it won’t be difficult thing for me to win
“But in any case there is no magic in politics, I’m going to use all the lawful ways to make sure that I won the minds of the voters,” he said.
Ex- IGP tasks governors on State Police
