Insecurity: NEC postpones state police talks once again
By Kunle Sanni
The National Economic Council (NEC) has once again postponed deliberations on the proposed establishment of state police, deferring the matter to its next meeting.
Speaking to State House correspondents after NEC’s 149th session held at the Aso Rock Villa on Thursday, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri confirmed that while state policing was included in the meeting’s agenda, time constraints prevented its discussion.
“State police was part of our agenda today, but unfortunately, because of time demands, and after a very long meeting—we have been there for a very long time—the presentations could not get to that bit of it,” Diri stated. “So I assure you that in our next meeting, that issue will be exhaustively discussed.”
The council, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, met for nearly four hours, but the discussion did not reach the issue of decentralised policing — a topic that has gained renewed urgency amid escalating insecurity across the country.
Although NEC meetings are typically scheduled for the last Thursday of each month, they have been held irregularly in recent months. Since the December 2024 session, which confirmed that all 36 states had submitted supportive reports on the state police proposal, the council has failed to make meaningful progress on the matter. The topic was also absent from the February 2025 meeting.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s meeting included a minute of silence observed by governors in honour of victims of recent killings in Plateau, Benue, Borno, and Enugu states — underscoring the urgent need for reforms in the country’s security architecture.
As anticipation builds, all eyes are now on the next NEC meeting — expected at the end of May — where stakeholders hope the long-delayed state police debate will finally take centre stage.
