"No Governor Should Complain About Funding": Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu Outlines Guardrails and Next Steps for State Police Bill
Speaking on TVC News’ *Beyond the Headlines* with Nifemi Oguntoye, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, provided an insider's breakdown of the recently passed State Police Bill.
Addressing lingering public anxieties regarding political victimization, operational standards, and fiscal viability, Kalu confidently dismissed criticisms. He asserted that the piece of legislation is structurally sound, heavily insulated with strict federal guardrails, and fundamentally designed to transition Nigeria into a modern, multi-layered policing architecture capable of protecting its $230\text{ million}$ population across $923,000\text{ square kilometers}$.
The Legislative Roadmap: Moving to the 36 States
Dispelling the misconception that state police forces will appear on streets immediately, Kalu detailed the exact constitutional process required to turn the bill into law.
Having passed both chambers independently, the bill is entering a brief harmonisation stage. Kalu indicated that the leadership is prepared to call an emergency session if necessary to expedite the process before ceremonially transmitting the bill to the subnationals.
Strict Guardrails: Preventing Political Weaponization
A prominent concern among skeptics is that state governors will manipulate regional security apparatuses to stifle political opposition. Kalu pushed back firmly against this narrative, arguing that governors are not inherently "monsters" and comparing the situation to state high courts, which have not been systematically used to jail rivals.
More importantly, he revealed that the bill contains statutory triggers allowing the National Police Council to intervene if a state breaches operational protocol.
"In doing so, we have to put guardrails because this is security we’re talking about... If you don't put those guardrails, you will see people going on a frolic of their own and making laws that will build monstrous state police that is not within global best practices. In fact, it is one of the grounds to even remove the license, the certification, if you begin to use it as a political tool to go against opponents."
The Funding Reality: Subsidy Remittances & Alternative Revenue
Addressing financial sustainability, Kalu directed attention to the Second Schedule of the amendment, specifically Section 20B, Subsection 2, which mandates state assemblies to legislate local funding channels.
He robustly argued that subnational governments are in their strongest financial positions ever due to post-subsidy removal federal distributions, leaving no room for excuses. Concurrently, he disclosed that parliament is actively looking into earmarking a dedicated $1\%$ to $2\%$ allocation from the national revenue pool specifically to bolster state-level security logistics.
"What the President has done so far, to be honest, no governor should complain about starting a state police. They can kickstart it... If you are getting more, to whom much is given, much is expected. So if you're getting more money, I don't think spending money on the security of the state... will be so much of an issue."
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