Lagos Governor Speaks on State Policing
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said Nigeria should make state police happen.
He stated this while interacting with n over the weekend at the Lagos House.
According to him, “It is long overdue, we should make it happen,” the governor said in reaction to his stance on the creation of a state policing structure in the country.
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“In fact, that is one of the critical things that I believe will help us. It has been said over and over again.”
Sanwo-Olu also affirmed that governors are frustrated that they cannot take absolute control of the security situation in their respective states.
He, however, said once the state police outfit is enforced, it will be easier for the officers to effectively tackle crimes in the state since they are already used to their different host communities.
He stated that the Lagos State Government has always given its support to the Nigeria Police Force in the state with the purchase of vehicles, provision of fuel and allowances which is exclusive of the Federal Government.
“The last time, we gave them 1,250 constabularies and we are paying their salaries. We paid for everything – uniform, food, etc. So we are actually incurring those expenses already.
“It is really not going to have any bigger bolt on our numbers because that is what we are doing. But it will help us to know that there are state police. What we will do is that somebody grows up in an area, you will understand that area.
“You will know where Okokomaiko is, you will understand the issues around Ojoko, you will know what the problem is in Lagos Island once it is domesticated,” he added.
Sanwo-Olu who also spoke on transportation in the state noted that his administration will not scrap out the popularly ‘danfo’ buses but will remodel them to meet modern standards.
“It will be unfair for us. These are important stakeholders. They served our citizens. They served Lagosians for a long time. It became the print of Lagos, the yellow buses.
“Let’s be very creative. Let’s see how we can remodel them without scrapping them out. We are collaborating with them. You know that our citizens now deserve newer models of cars.”
The governor stated further that the state has signed an agreement with a local bus manufacturing company to replace buses burnt during the #EndSARS protest.
