Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, PhD, CFR, has insisted that Nigeria must urgently establish state police if it is to effectively confront its worsening security challenges.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on his return from Geneva, Switzerland, where he represented Nigeria at the 55th Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization/Inter-Parliamentary Union (WTO-IPU) Public Forum 2025, Kalu said the country’s centralised policing model is outdated and inadequate compared to global standards.
According to him, Nigeria needs to decentralize policing in line with international practice.
“On the state police bill before parliament, our concern is the slow response time of policing in Nigeria, which falls short of global standards. The solution is to unbundle the current centralised structure and allow state and municipal police to function alongside the federal police. That is what other countries are doing,” he said.
He explained that a national public hearing on the issue will be held on Monday to give Nigerians a voice on the proposal.
“Yes, there are fears of political hijack, but we cannot deny the majority of Nigerians their right to safety and security because of a few risks. The greater good must outweigh the minor threats,” he added.
Kalu praised Nigerians for their resilience in standing with President Bola Tinubu during the removal of fuel subsidy and other painful but necessary reforms. He said these bold steps were essential to reposition the country for sustainable growth.
He disclosed that Nigerians in the diaspora, including students of Harvard Kennedy School in the United States where he was earlier hosted, expressed keen interest in the government’s policies and reforms.
“Nigeria needed a courageous leader to take these difficult decisions. Removing subsidy meant facing hardship initially, but it has set us on the path to long-term economic benefits. I thank Nigerians for their resilience in weathering the storm,” Kalu said.
He also commended state governments for their roles in diversifying the economy, particularly through agriculture and production, stressing that collective effort would create more jobs and increase national wealth.
Highlighting his participation in the Geneva Conference, Kalu said Nigeria is among eight countries represented on the WTO/IPU steering committee on digital trade. He argued that digital trade must be at the core of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
“Digital trade is driving global growth, boosting economies by up to 25 percent. Africa must key into this. We proposed a legislative tracking tool to measure how countries implement digital trade laws and compare progress across regions,” he explained.
Kalu also emphasized the urgency of passing the bill for reserved seats for women in Parliament, which he co-sponsored with 12 other lawmakers. He said women’s exclusion from politics was stunting Nigeria’s democratic and economic progress.
“This is not about compensating women but about economic necessity. Nations with more women in leadership grow faster. A democracy that sidelines half its population cannot thrive,” he noted.
On diaspora voting, Kalu reaffirmed his support but maintained that Nigeria must first strengthen its electoral system.
He also shed light on his intervention in the recent crisis involving contractors in the Federal Capital Territory, who threatened protests over unpaid fees. According to him, “legislative diplomacy” helped resolve the matter and ensured payments were made after meetings with finance officials and stakeholders at the instance of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Kalu pledged to personally engage the FCT Minister on looming waste management concerns to avert strikes.
“The FCT has no House of Assembly. We are their Assembly. We cannot allow services to collapse,” he stressed.
While acknowledging his growing role in global forums, including upcoming engagements at Harvard and MIT, Kalu reaffirmed that his first duty remains to Nigeria.
“My WTO program was still ongoing, but duty called. Nigeria comes first before the globe,” he declared.
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