Blessing Iruoma, Port Harcourt
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said that the establishment of State police will be one good approach to addressing the menace of insecurity in Nigeria.
Governor Wike spoke, on Thursday, while addressing delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.
The Rivers State governor dismissed the argument against the need for State Police.
“The Federal Government, you cannot stop this insecurity if you don’t have State Police. You must have State Police. There is no two ways about it.
“Having a State Police does not mean you will not have a federal police. All over the federal system, even councils have their own police so that you employ people who know the environment.
“You cannot take a stranger to go to Mabila, it will take him years to understand that place. You can’t take a stranger and go to Donga or Chanchangi.
“So, you need people who know the environment so they will be able to take care of the place.
“If federal offences are committed, the federal police should handle them. If they are state offences, the state police should handle. So one key thing to stop this insecurity in Nigeria is to have state police.”
The PDP presidential aspirant said those opposing state police often argue that if allowed, State governors will use it against their opponents.
He continued, “The question is will the governors be in office permanently? So, that argument is neither here or there.
“If this party called APC government loves Nigeria and committed to Nigeria, one project that they would have given to Nigeria is the creation of State Police.”
Governor Wike further explained that the beauty of establishing State Police was to ensure that people who are indigenous to an area are engaged in policing their environment.
Speaking further, Governor Wike told the delegates that he was presenting himself to them to be given the presidential ticket to fly the party’s flag in the 2023 election because he is prepared to end the many troubles facing Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria needed a forthright leader who could speak the truth always and competently be the Commander-in-Chief who goes to the field where Nigerians can relate with their daily experiences.
“The one problem that our (PDP) government,(under me if elected) must solve is to bring down the level of insecurity in this country otherwise there is no way the economy can grow.
“When bandits hear my name they will run because I will take the war to them. I will be the Commander- in-Chief in action.
“I’ll be commanding in projects, in security, in agriculture and the economy together with the armed forces. I’ll be commanding every aspects of life that will make Nigerians happy. This is because I have the capacity to solve the problems of Nigeria.”
Governor Wike lamented the incidences of bomb blast in parts of the country and at railway tracks.
He described such incidences including the operations of Boko Haram and bandits that have killed most Nigerians as the legacy of the APC federal government.
Similarly, Governor Darius Ishaku also harped the need for creation of State Police.
He lamented the state of insecurity in Nigeria and expressed optimism that if PDP returns to power in 2023, the party would restore the lost glory of the country.
In the words of Governor Ishaku, “Nigeria is yearning for leadership. He has said it, hunger doesn’t East, South or West. Kidnapping doesn’t know south, east or west. Security is security. If there is no security there is no economy. If there is no economy, the country is not existing.”
On his part, a former Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, who described Governor Wike as a ‘faithful’ party man with requisite experience to lead Nigeria.
Dankwambo’s words, “He is a true party man. Wike joined the party in 1998 and he is still in the party. He has never left even when the going was tough. When great people ran away, Wike stayed. He did not only stay, because he did not have anywhere to go, he contributed in building the party, in making the party stable and ensuring that the party continue as a growing concern.”
