“We Don’t Want A State Police That Will Be Controlled By Governors” — Hon. Umere Warns Tinubu

A political commentator and public affairs analyst, Hon. Ifeanyi Umere has urged President Bola Tinubu to be thorough in crafting his proposal for the creation of state police in Nigeria.

Hon. Umere made the call while featuring as a guest on ‘Hard Talk’, a political radio programme on Spin 95.3 FM Umuahia on Monday September 8, 2025.

While he appreciated and commended the president for coming up with the idea of creating a state controlled police, he urged President Tinubu to draft a proposal that is devoid of ambiguity and complex interpretations that may have a structure as the existing Nigerian Police.

Hon. Umere said what Nigerians need is a police that fully belongs to the people and not under the sole control of state governors.

“We don’t want a police that will look like state police in the nomenclature but will end up being under the control of the Inspector General of Police.”

“We want a police that belongs to the people. Not the governors. Governors come and go. Let it not be a police that will be pocketed and used by governors as a political weapon against perceived political enemies.”

“Let us see what the president has in mind so we can interrogate it properly.”

The former House of Assembly aspirant in Abia State blamed the failure of government through the existing security apparatuses to protect the people for the renewed call for state police and regional security outfits.

Going down memory lane, he unearthed some of the issues raised by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu in the South East which are yet to be attended to by government of the day, which include among other things, invasion of forests and villages, kidnap for ransom, robbery and rape by the Fulani herdsmen.

On why the “Ebube Agụ” — a regional security outfit for securing the South East, set up by the South East Governors Forum, led by the former governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, did not succeed, Hon. Umere said partisan politics, poor funding, inability to have a legal framework for its sustainablility and poor vision by the pilots all led to its failure.

Commenting on the Nigerian Police Force, the Ozu Abam born politician faulted the recruitment process of the personnel which according to him led to employing misfits into the for force.

He further questioned the suitability of the Nigerian constitution in today’s Nigeria, describing it as an old tricycle that keeps developing faults every now and then and never getting to its destination.

“Our Constitution was put together by the military, General Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd) and Obasanjo hastily accepted it because he was in a hurry to become a president.”

“He didn’t take time to look it, that is why we keep amending it. Why do we keep amending it? Why not have a fresh constitution? It’s like a clothe sewn by a tailor and you keep amending the size, it will go out of shape. The Nigerian constitution is out of shape.”

He called on the government to shun politics in handling the safety of citizens and be more intentional in order to safeguard lives and property of the citizenry.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu said he would ensure the creation of state police in Nigeria before the expiration of his administration.