Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s renewed commitment to the establishment of state police, describing it as a long-overdue step toward addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
In a statement issued in Ibadan, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, said Afenifere was encouraged by the President’s declaration and hoped that the plan would move beyond rhetoric to full implementation before the end of 2025.
“As is well known, the idea of state police has been on the front burner for quite a while. We recall that Tinubu has never hidden his desire to have state police. Indeed, going by the posture of Mr. President, one had thought that the scheme would have taken off before now,” Ajayi said.
He pointed to the briefing by Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, in February 2024, where the government disclosed Tinubu’s renewed efforts after consultations with state governors at the Presidential Villa.
“We have a feeling that for Tinubu to again openly describe state police as inevitable now means that the Federal Government is ready to have it take off,” Ajayi added.
Afenifere’s National Chairman, Olu Falae, also threw his weight behind the proposal, calling the creation of state police “long overdue.”
Talks on the framework for state policing began on February 15, 2024, following an emergency meeting between Tinubu and the 36 state governors.
