Governors should have the constitutional authority to appoint and remove state Commissioners of Police if Nigeria eventually adopts state policing, leaders of the Southern and Middle Belt regions declared on Wednesday, and that anything less would leave the proposed reform under federal control.
The demand marks one of the clearest positions yet from influential regional leaders as the National Assembly continues work on constitutional amendments aimed at decentralising policing in response to Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
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The resolution emerged from a meeting of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) in Abuja, where delegates drawn from Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), and the Middle Belt Forum considered proposals on security, constitutional reform, and the 2027 political transition.
Reading the communiqué after the meeting, the forum’s chairman and factional Afenifere leader, Chief Oladipo Olaitan, stated that state police would only succeed if governors enjoy powers comparable to those exercised by the President over the Inspector-General of Police.
Olaitan said, “Shelf welcomes state police, of which we have been advocates over the years, but insists that state police should reflect true federalism and not a Federal State Police system.”
He added, “State governors shall have the same power to appoint or remove a Commissioner of Police as the President in relation to the Inspector-General of Police.”
The forum made it clear that creating state police while leaving operational control in Abuja would only reproduce the weaknesses that have long hampered the Nigeria Police Force.
Calls for decentralised policing have intensified in recent years as governors across party lines complain that they are constitutionally recognised as chief security officers of their states but lack direct authority over police commands during security emergencies.
Putting policing aside, the regional leaders have renewed their longstanding campaign for a new constitution built on what they described as genuine federalism.
Olaitan disclosed that the forum would mobilise Nigerians to support a presidential candidate willing to pursue constitutional restructuring and devolve greater powers to the federating units.
The meeting also revisited the politics of power rotation ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The forum reaffirmed its earlier position that the presidency should remain in the South after President Bola Tinubu’s first term and that respecting the existing rotation arrangement would strengthen national unity and political stability.
SMBLF further criticised the declining internal democracy within political parties, and then accused a handful of influential figures of determining candidates during party primaries instead of allowing members to decide through transparent contests.
While acknowledging recent military successes against armed groups in parts of Oyo, Zamfara, and Borno states, the forum urged the Federal Government to intensify operations in violence-prone areas of Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Kwara, and Kogi.
It also called for stronger collaboration with neighbouring countries and international partners to curb cross-border criminal activities; it warned that security reforms would achieve little without sustained action against organised armed groups operating across Nigeria’s borders.
The forum’s most recent intervention is expected to add momentum to the national debate over state policing, one of the most contentious issues before lawmakers considering far-reaching constitutional reforms.
It also places additional pressure on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to clarify how operational control, funding, and oversight of any future state police system would be shared between Abuja and the states.
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