President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday stated that the current political environment in the country was not healthy enough to allow states to have their own police force.
“State police may be theoretically good but, looking at our political environment, it could be abused to the detriment of the country. The consensus is that we should get to the point where we will be sure that whoever is in power will not turn it against the people. The first step is for us to have confidence in elections conducted at the state and local government levels,” Jonathan stated.
He also disclosed that state governors had been directed to organise town hall meetings to explain the rationale for government’s stance on fuel subsidies to their people.
The president, who spoke at the North-Central Zonal meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) held in Ilorin, Kwara State, observed that if state police forces were introduced at this period, there was a great likelihood that that they would be misused.
The consensus of members of the National Council of State, Jonathan hinted, is that state police should not be permitted until Nigeria’s political development gets to the stage where Nigerians can be sure that it will not be misused.
The president informed the gathering that consultations on the deregulation of the downstream sector of the country’s petroleum industry were ongoing.
He said: “Deregulation is not just about removal of subsidy but also about how we can stimulate the economy to create jobs for our teeming unemployed young men and women.
“Government is not unmindful of the hardship faced by the average Nigerian and is doing its best to create conditions in which each and every Nigerian can lift his or herself out of the doldrums of poverty.
“We are not going to celebrate corruption but fight it by doing things properly and not creating opportunities for it to thrive. We are going to systematically fight it by setting up structures and strengthening the anti-corruption institutions.”
Jonathan commended NIREC for contributing to securing the peace and progress of Nigeria by being a moderating influence amongst the adherents of all faiths.
“In your role as ambassadors of God on earth, you are expected to, and I am glad that you are actually and actively involved in guiding your faithful on the path of peace, he said. “We do not all have to agree with each other in every aspect of life for us to live in peace and build unity. What we simply have to agree on is the fact that Nigeria is our nation and we are all Nigerians and share a common patrimony and, as such, we have to practise the fundamental principle of inclusivity.”