State Policing Debate Tops Agenda as Shettima Chairs NEC

By: Aremu Toyeebaht

The call for state policing is expected to dominate discussions today as Vice President Kashim Shettima chairs the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja.

The session, which began around 11:30 a.m. with prayers led by Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, is the first NEC gathering since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu renewed his push for decentralised policing as part of sweeping security reforms.

Although the NEC is constitutionally mandated to coordinate economic policy, its agenda often expands to broader governance issues, particularly security. With insecurity worsening across the country, expectations are high that the governors and federal officials will address the push for state-controlled police forces.

President Tinubu recently restated his position during a meeting with a delegation of eminent citizens from Katsina State. “I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create a state police,” the president said at the State House in Abuja, signalling what many believe could be a turning point in Nigeria’s security architecture.

As Shettima presides, the NEC session is widely seen as a critical forum that could shape the pathway toward institutionalising state policing—a move considered controversial in the past but increasingly viewed as necessary in tackling Nigeria’s persistent insecurity.