President Goodluck Jonathan

Jonathan rules out state police.

President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out the possibility of establishing state police, saying the country was not politically mature for such a system.
Jonathan, at the North Central Zonal meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council in llorin, Kwara State, said the system could be abused if introduced at this stage of the nation’s history.
Jonathan said, "State Police may be theoretically good, but looking at our political environment, it could be abused to the detriment of the country."
According to him, the consensus of members of the National Council of State is that state police should not be permitted until Nigeria’s political development reached a stage where Nigerians could be sure that it would not be misused.
The first step, according to him, is for Nigerians to have confidence in elections conducted at the state and local government levels.
The President also told the gathering that consultations on the deregulation of the downstream sector of Nigeria’s petroleum industry were on.
He said governors were expected to organise town hall meetings to explain the rationale for government’s stance on fuel subsidy to their people.
He said, "Deregulation is not just about removal of subsidy but also about how we can stimulate the economy to create jobs for our teeming unemployed young men and women.
"Government is not unmindful of the hardship faced by the average Nigerian and is doing its best to create conditions in which each and every Nigerian can lift his or herself out of the doldrums of poverty.
Also at the forum, Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu said Boko Haram was a political and not a religious creation.
Pointing out that nobody would kill because of religion, he added that Islam is against the killing of innocent people.
He also said deregulation was necessary for the nation’s economic stimulation and growth, adding that it was wrong for people to make deregulation synonymous with removal of fuel subsidy.
Aliyu, who is also the Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum, said religion had been politicised in the nation. He stated that this had led to a crisis of confidence among many members.
He added that the result of this had been a parody of socio-cultural woes, a surge in crime, suicides, ethnic cleavages, racial animosity, family discord, truancy, delinquency and many other social vices.
He said the above problems had militated against development in the country