Ali Ndume, Senate Chief Whip, has expressed his doubts about the effectiveness of the proposed state police in Nigeria. According to him, the state police will be misused by governors. In an interview with ChannelsTV on Wednesday evening, Ndume pointed out that Nigeria is currently facing a security crisis due to the population being far greater than the number of security personnel.
He urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to withdraw orderlies attached to politicians and other VIPs. Ndume stressed that Nigeria needs about two million policemen and 500 soldiers to cater to its population. He also said that he would not vote for state police if it came up in the constitution amendment process because it would be abused by governors. Ndume is against the idea of politicians having a large number of police officers.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to provide security agencies with the necessary funding and weapons to combat the menace of banditry, kidnapping, and insurgency. Ndume said that the President should empower the police to increase their manpower to two million and the military to 500 thousand. He suggested having two million policemen and 500 thousand soldiers to maintain security in the country.