By Monsurat Abisoye
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of hastily pushing legislation on state police to create the impression that it is addressing the country’s worsening insecurity.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party described the proposed State Police Bill as a panicky and politically motivated move rather than a carefully planned constitutional reform.
While reaffirming its support for state policing in principle, the ADC cautioned against presenting the reform as an immediate solution to banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism. It argued that the policy requires strong institutional safeguards before implementation.
The party also accused the Federal Government of repackaging a long-standing national consensus as a new initiative and attempting to push the constitutional amendment through the National Assembly without adequate public consultation.
According to the ADC, the move reflects a hurried response to the country’s deteriorating security situation rather than the deliberate planning needed to establish a functional, accountable, and effective policing system.
The party further questioned the timing of the proposal, asking why the Tinubu administration waited until almost the end of its tenure to aggressively pursue state police if it was genuinely committed to the reform.
It maintained that legislation alone would not solve Nigeria’s security challenges, stressing that recruitment, training, funding, command structures, intelligence coordination, judicial oversight, and correctional reforms are essential components that cannot be developed overnight.