Adams, HURIWA berate N’Assembly over exclusion of state police, others from constitution amendment

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams has described the removal of state police from the constitutional amendment procedure as a disservice to the nation.

In a statement yesterday, Adams said the prolonged spate of insecurity in the country makes the demand for state police a necessity. Adams, who said he had a strong premonition from the beginning that the lawmakers would not come up with anything that will reflect the overall interest of the people, noted with dismay the alleged selfishness of the Senate, arguing that not much could be achieved with the ongoing constitutional amendment, which he said, was mired in unnecessary politicking.

He noted that with the removal of state police from the constitutional amendment procedure, it is obvious that none of the National Assembly members are worthy representatives of the people.

He said: “It is an open display of politics and selfishness and Nigerians are always at the receiving end.

“The Red Chamber did not consider the need for a state police, which could have helped in addressing the pressing security challenges we face daily as a nation.

“Their plan was to hide under the cover of the law to improve their political leverage and boost their interests and nothing more.

“The security situation is a major challenge in the country and the Senate decided to look the other way by removing state police from the constitutional amendment process.”

He said that the implication of this huge lacuna in the constitutional amendment process is that the demand for state police or regional police was long overdue, given the security deficit in the country.

SIMILARLY, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has chided the National Assembly over 68 amendments proposed by the Senate and House of Representatives’ Special Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.

The group expressed disappointment that the Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila-led National Assembly did not include state policing and restructuring in the amendment of the military-imposed fraudulent constitution despite clamour by the Southern Governors’ Forum and the southern caucus of the federal lawmakers.

It also warned against self-serving and unpatriotic provisions, such as the immunity for principal officers, judicial officers and life pension for principal officers of the National Assembly.

HURIWA, in a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Co-ordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged the coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country to mount pressure on the Ninth National Assembly to ensure that unpatriotic provisions are not included in the constitution as lawmakers are billed to vote on the recommendations on Tuesday and Wednesday after which the proposal would be sent to the states for concurrence.