Governor of Enugu State and Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) Committee on the Revamp of Police and Other Security Training Institutions, Dr. Peter Mbah, has described the ongoing initiative to rehabilitate police and security training facilities across the country as a clear demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to restore the dignity and excellence of Nigeria’s security personnel.
Mbah made the remarks on Thursday during an inspection tour of the Police Training School, Nonwa in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State, and the Police Training School, Oji River, Enugu State, alongside other members of the committee.
He emphasized that the nation cannot in good conscience demand integrity and professionalism from its security operatives without first reflecting those values in their learning and training environments.
“This initiative re-echoes the President’s passion for getting things done and getting them done fast,” Mbah stated.
The governor, accompanied by committee member Prince Dapo Abiodun, committee secretary and former Inspector-General of Police Baba Usman, as well as the host governor, Siminalayi Fubara, assured that the committee would ensure a total turnaround of all security training institutions in the country.
“This committee was born out of the president’s recognition that we are at a security crossroads and nothing short of a complete and urgent overhaul is needed to ensure that we secure our future. The president recognises that security is paramount, and it is the primary responsibility of any government,” Mbah explained.
He noted that the committee’s work coincides with the president’s approval for the recruitment of 30,000 new police personnel, stressing that such recruitment could not succeed without a robust and modernized training framework.
“So, we have come here for an on-the-spot assessment. We already have reports on the state of all the training institutions, both for the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) across the country,” he added.
Speaking on the deplorable condition of the facilities, the Commandant of the Police Training School, Nonwa, ACP Daniel Okere, revealed that despite the institution’s dilapidated state, it still managed to train men and women of the Police Force in 2022.
Governor Mbah lamented that decades of neglect had led to the decay of critical training infrastructure nationwide, commending President Tinubu for recognizing the urgency of addressing the situation.
“It is important that we underscore the point that this is being treated as an emergency; hence, everything about it, including the intervention fund, is being treated as such,” he noted.
“It is like a national mission to restore the integrity, the confidence, and the professionalism of the men and women who protect our communities. And that is what we have been charged with, and we must work to get it accomplished.”
Mbah further disclosed that the first phase of the revamp project would last one month, during which the committee would supervise renovation, reconstruction, and re-equipping efforts to bring the institutions up to 21st-century standards.
“It is not going to be patch work. No. There will be a restoration of the dignity of these men and women,” he concluded.
Also speaking, Governor Dapo Abiodun lauded the president’s commitment, describing it as a reflection of Tinubu’s “political will as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to support the law enforcement architecture.”
“Our team of consultants are also looking at all the training facilities across the country, and we will come up at the end of the day with a bill of quantity that truly reflects the budgetary requirements to turn these institutions around.
As the Chairman stated, we cannot incubate policemen in this kind of environment and expect them to behave like human beings. Whatever it is we expect of them, we must instill it in them while they are being trained,” Abiodun said.
In his remarks, Governor Siminalayi Fubara expressed optimism that the reforms would mark a turning point in the nation’s security sector.
“I am sure we are going to get it right. At the end of the day, the police will be motivated to act professionally like any other police in the world,” Fubara assured.
