The Federal Capital Territory will not be part of the proposed state police structure because it does not operate as a state, the Senate has explained.
The Senate Committee on Media and Publicity Chairman, Yemi Adaramodu, said the constitutional status of the FCT makes its policing arrangement different from that of Nigeria’s 36 states.
Adaramodu, on Friday, explained that the territory is administered by the Federal Government through a minister rather than an elected governor.
He noted that the FCT also has no State House of Assembly. Instead, legislative authority over the territory rests with the National Assembly.
“The FCT issue is different. It is under the Federal Government,” Adaramodu said.
He explained that the Minister of the FCT operates under the Federal Executive Council, while the National Assembly performs the legislative functions that would ordinarily be handled by a state assembly.
“Again, the FCT does not have a governor. It is run by a minister who subscribes to the Federal Executive Council. It is from this FEC that the FCT takes directives and its administrative relevance.
“So, the federal capital does not have an assembly. It is the National Assembly that legislates for the FCT. This is why it cannot be different from what the Federal Government does. Therefore, the federal police are in charge,” he said.
State police framework advances
The clarification comes as the Federal Government pushes ahead with plans to introduce a decentralized policing system in response to growing demands for state-controlled police forces.
The Presidency has said President Bola Tinubu is expected to receive the draft Executive National Policing Bill on September 3.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this after a meeting of the group at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila also announced a public portal through which Nigerians can submit memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation before it is finalized and forwarded to the National Assembly.
The constitutional amendments are expected to provide the legal foundation for state police, while the executive bill will establish the practical framework for their operation.
States to shoulder major funding responsibility
The proposed system would give state Houses of Assembly authority to legislate on the establishment, administration, funding, organization and oversight of state police.
States would carry the main responsibility for financing their respective police forces, although the Federal Government could provide financial assistance.
A proposed constitutional provision, Section 216A, would allow federal grants or other assistance to state police following recommendations by the National Police Council and approval by the National Assembly.
However, the provision does not establish a fixed federal funding commitment, a minimum contribution or a specific revenue-sharing formula.
This could leave states largely responsible for financing their police forces, while federal support would depend on the National Police Council’s recommendation and subsequent approval by the National Assembly.
The council, chaired by the President, includes key federal and state officials and is expected to play an important role in coordinating the relationship between the two levels of government under the new policing arrangement.
FCT remains under federal police
For the FCT, however, the proposed arrangement would not alter its existing policing structure.
According to Adaramodu, the territory’s lack of a governor and State House of Assembly means it does not meet the constitutional structure envisaged for state police.
Consequently, policing in Abuja and the wider FCT would remain under the Federal Government through the existing federal policing system.
As the proposed constitutional changes and National Policing Bill undergo further legislative consideration, the FCT’s unique administrative status is expected to remain a key factor in determining how policing is organised within the nation’s capital.
