Senate plans separate budget for police commands

The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, says the National Assembly is planning a separate budget for adequate funding of the 36 commands of Nigeria Police.

Lawan said the move was to enable officers and men of the police force perform optimally and tackle insecurity in the country.

He disclosed this on Tuesday when the Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Adamu, led the police management team to pay him courtesy visit in his office.

Lawan assured the IGP on the early passage of the Police Reform Bill, Police Academy Bill and smooth implementation of the Police Trust Fund.

He added that “the police need to be restructured, including the separate appropriations being canvassed for the state police commands by the Inspector General of Police.

“I can assure you that the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, when constituted, will work with your management on the separate funding for the state police commands.

“This is necessary, because we want you to spend your resources prudently and economically. We want you to always display efficiency on your duties and we will always give you support.

“Separate budgetary provisions for the state police commands different from the Force Headquarters is a good idea.

“The current style (of lumped budget) is not giving the deserved result.”

Lawan further assured that the passage of the pending bills would be fast-tracked as soon as possible.

“The Police Reform Bill, when passed will assist the police on better funding.

“The Police Academy Bill will also be given consideration because we want to see officers and men of the Police Force that are trained and re-trained.”

The IGP in his earlier remark had requested the support of the Senate for better funding of the Police.

Adamu equally requested for the quick passage of the Police Reform Bill and the Police Academy Bill to enhance efficiency of the Force.