Makinde: Tinubu not interested in state police, is dragging his feet
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says President Bola Tinubu has no plans and is not interested in creating state police.
According to the governor, the president’s lack of interest is why he has been dragging his feet and deliberately wasting Nigerians’ time.
Makinde spoke in Ibadan on Thursday, arguing that if the president was interested in state police, he would have supported state assemblies to create state police rather than place the task on the inspector general of police.
Makinde said, “Where we are today, they shouldn’t fool us. If they want to create state police, they shouldn’t ask the inspector general of police to do that. Our state assemblies will do that. Give them the authority and support. They are here. Within the shortest time, state police will come to be. They should stop wasting our time. They should stop wasting Nigerians’ time.”
The governor’s outburst came on the heels of emerging insecurity in Oyo state, especially the May 15 mass abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in the Oriire LGA.
Makinde, who identified security as a pillar of his administration, disclosed that Amotekun, a regional security outfit, was created to ensure safety of lives and property.
“This is a tough period for me as a person and our state. But people will know that security is one of the major pillars of this administration both in my first and second terms and it will remain a major pillar. Before we came, there was nothing as Amotekun,” he added.
The governor, however, alleged that Lagos refused to be part of the Amotekun creation as a stop-gap for state police because Mr Tinubu objected to it.
“We wanted state police. We went for Amotekun because we didn’t get state police. Amotekun was a stop-gap for state police. We knew how we did Amotekun.
“We passed a common law across the states in the South-West. All the state assemblies in the region passed the law. That led to the creation of Amotekun. The only state that didn’t create Amotekun was Lagos. And we knew the reason they didn’t create it was because their boss (Mr Tinubu) didn’t want it.”
