SENATE CLARIFIES WHY FCT EXCLUDED FROM PROPOSED STATE POLICE FRAMEWORK. (PHOTO).

Senate Clarifies Why FCT Excluded from Proposed State Police Framework

The Senate has explained that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was deliberately left out of the proposed constitutional arrangement for state police because it lacks a governor and a State House of Assembly, remaining under direct federal administration.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, made the clarification on Friday while addressing journalists on questions surrounding the FCT’s exclusion from the framework.

Adaramodu noted that the administrative structure of the FCT differs fundamentally from that of the 36 states. The territory is headed by a minister who operates under the Federal Executive Council and takes directives from it. Legislative powers over the FCT rest with the National Assembly rather than a local legislature.

“I have heard many people raise a lot of questions on why the Federal Capital Territory is not among the plan for state police. The FCT issue is different. It is under the Federal Government,” Adaramodu said.

“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 can’t be different from what the Federal Government does. Therefore, the federal police are in charge.”

The explanation comes as the Federal Government advances plans for a new policing architecture amid growing calls for decentralisation and constitutional backing for state police.

The Presidency has indicated that President Bola Tinubu is expected to receive the draft Executive National Policing Bill on September 3. The disclosure was made by the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, after a meeting of the group at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Gbajabiamila also announced a public information portal through which Nigerians can submit memoranda and position papers to help shape the proposed legislation before it is considered by the President and transmitted to the National Assembly.

While the ongoing constitutional amendment process is intended to provide the legal foundation for state police, the Executive Bill is expected to outline the operational framework. Under the proposed amendments, state Houses of Assembly would gain powers to legislate on the establishment, organisation, administration, funding and oversight of state police forces.

Primary funding responsibility would rest with the states, though the Federal Government could provide grants or assistance. A new Section 216A provides that the Federal Government shall offer grants or aid to state police on the recommendation of the National Police Council, subject to National Assembly approval. The provision does not set a minimum federal contribution, funding formula or guaranteed revenue stream.

The National Police Council is chaired by the President and includes senior federal and state officials, making the funding mechanism a potential point of ongoing interaction between the two tiers of government.

According to Adaramodu, the FCT would remain outside this arrangement because of its unique constitutional and administrative status as a territory administered directly by the Federal Government without the institutional structures of a state.

Further harmonisation and legislative processes are expected on the state police framework, leaving the question of policing in the FCT tied to its distinct position under federal control.