Nigeria’s leading opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have jointly accused President Bola Tinubu of a lack of sincerity in addressing the nation’s security challenges.
They have also raised strong objections to the proposed establishment of state police, warning that such a move would severely damage the country’s democracy.
The parties issued separate statements in Calabar, contending that state police would be used to weaken, intimidate, and silence opposition voices.
They argued that the proposal is particularly dangerous given how other decentralised systems, like state electoral commissions and local government autonomy, have been rendered impotent by state governors.
The PDP Chairman in Cross River State, Vena Ikem, questioned the president’s rationale, stating that state police would “bury democracy.”
He pointed to the failure of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), which are widely seen as tools for incumbent state governments to win all local elections.
Ikem also noted that despite the president’s efforts to grant financial autonomy to local governments, governors have continued to frustrate the process, leaving local administrations ineffective.
Echoing these sentiments, the ADC’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Effiong Nyong, accused the Tinubu administration of insincerity.
The party recalled that President Tinubu was highly critical of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of security, but has now grown quiet despite a worsening security situation under his own party’s governance.
The ADC also cited the extension of the Inspector General of Police’s tenure as another sign that the president is not serious about security reform. They expressed concern that despite increased financial allocations to states, security crises have only intensified across the nation.
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cc: Daily Post NG
