Daily Metro News NG

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum have faulted deductions of 0.5 per cent of revenue accruing to the Federation Account into the newly established Police Trust Fund.

The Governors appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to immediately re-examine their consideration of what is in Section 4(1) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act, 2019.

Section 4(1) of the Police Trust Fund Act of 2019 give authority to the President to deduct 0.5 percent of the total revenue accruing to the Federation Account for the Police Trust Fund.

This statement was contained in a communique released after a virtual Zoom meeting of the PDP Governors Forum and signed by its Chairman and Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal, the forum said such deduction is patently unconstitutional.

The communiqué reads; “The meeting noted the signing of the New Nigeria Police Act, 2020 by Mr. President, Commander in Chief.

“While acknowledging the many important innovations in the new law, the Forum emphasised the need to make the Nigeria Police Council, which has Mr President as Chairman and 36 state Governors as members, fully operational and the clearing house on all issues bordering on the organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“The Forum further observed the discrepancies in S.12(2) and S.12(4) of the Act on the appropriate authority with responsibility to deploy Police Commissioners to the respective states.

“Whereas S.12(2) gives the responsibility to the Police Service Commission, S. 12(4) gives either the Police Service Commission or Inspector-General of Police the same responsibility.

“This is even more regrettable as the Constitution gives this responsibility to the Police Service Commission (S. 215)(1)(b). We advise that the constitutional provision be upheld.

“Furthermore, the Forum canvassed for appropriate consultations with the Governors of various states on the deployment of Police Commissioners to the states since the Police is a common institution that executes the laws of both the federal and state governments.

“The Forum implored Mr. President and the National Assembly to repeal Section 4(1) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act, 2019 which purports to authorise the President to deduct 0.5% of the total revenue accruing to the Federation Account for the benefit of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, as it is patently unconstitutional.

“The beneficiaries of the Federation Account are the federal, states and local governments only. More creative funding options should be explored.

The communique was made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, had also expressed the Governors’ apprehension over the controversial Water Resources Bill, 2020.

The Forum call for broader consultations and public engagement on the Bill, they also revealed that it has referred the Bill to the bodies of Attorneys-General of PDP state governments for advice.

“The Forum noted the controversy surrounding the Water Resources Bill, 2020 and noted the stepping down of the Bill in the House of Representatives. It urged further consultations and public engagement in the processing of the Bill”, the statement concluded.