Fidelity Advert
POWELL Ad
Ben Nwoye
Dr. Ben Nwoye

The immediate past Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye, has described the popular notion that state governors are the Chief Security Officers of their states as mere rhetoric, arguing that such a claim lacks constitutional backing under Nigeria’s current structure.

Speaking over the weekend at the 2025 Enugu State Security Summit held at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Nwoye called for an urgent constitutional amendment to establish state policing, which he believes is the only path to true security autonomy for governors.

The summit, organized by Comrade Ogbodo Ebubechukwu, Director of Inter-Campus Management of NANS, Enugu State Chapter, brought together stakeholders to discuss the deepening insecurity across the nation.

Nwoye, who also lectures at the Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies in ESUT, stressed that policing in Nigeria remains the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“The 1999 Constitution says that the job of policing this nation lies with the Federal Government. The role is in the exclusive legislative list. Governors merely play supportive roles,” he said.

He added that, “Even the personal security aides assigned to governors are federal agents who can be withdrawn at any time. That alone proves they are not in control of security in their states.”

Nwoye praised recent efforts by President Bola Tinubu to introduce state policing, noting that such a move is a correction of past constitutional errors that have hampered security efficiency at the state level.

“As of a few days ago, the government realized their error. We now have President Tinubu pushing for state policing. It’s a necessary step,” he noted.

The former APC chairman also decried the lack of accurate data on the actual number of policemen and military personnel in the country, describing it as a critical gap in security management.

He urged participants at the summit, particularly students, to pressure their political representatives into supporting the constitutional amendment that would provide for state policing.

“This is not just about talk. We must push our lawmakers to act. The future of security in Nigeria depends on this reform,” he concluded.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here