The Southern Governors Forum (SGF) has insisted that state policing is the only solution to  security challenges in Nigeria. 

In a statement on Monday, chairman of the forum and governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu, said the forum would continue to demand the devolution of powers to the states.

The governor described devolution of powers as the surest path to progress on the security issue.

“We, on our part at the Southern Governors’ Forum, have continued to reiterate the fact of the incongruity inherent in an arrangement which purports to be federal, nominally, but whose observances stand at variance with the best practices espoused by climes considered advanced and progressing, amenable to nuances and adaptations which reflect and accommodate the yearnings for inclusion of the component units,” the statement reads.

It added, “We will continue to insist on the creation of state police as the only logical and pragmatic solution to the pervasive problem of insecurity in the land.

“In addition to this, we shall not fail to renew the call for the adoption of policies geared towards real devolution of powers to the federating units indeed.

“This is the surest path to peace and progress,” the statement concluded.

Overtime, Nigerians have expressed concern over the rejection of state police and restructuring in relation to the survival and stability of Nigeria.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed the motion for state police, describing it a no-option in the search for remedies to the country’s worsening security challenges. 

He similarly waved aside the clamour for restructuring as confusing.

State police and restructuring are two related subjects that many Nigerians consider essential to solving the deteriorating insecurity in the country, which is threatening diverse critical sectors, down to the very fabric holding the country together.