Amotekun: Akeredolu dares Buhari

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Wednesday disagreed with President Muhammadu Buhari over shifting the financial burden of community policing to state governments. Accordingly, the Ondo State governor in a media interaction on a Television programme, Sunrise Daily, on Channels Television opposed the funding of community policing by states.

Akeredolu stated that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) will discuss the issue with President Buhari.

Governor Akeredolu made the point that until the revenue sharing formula is reviewed, or Police is moved from the Exclusive list in the constitution to the concurrent or residual list, security has been the exclusive responsibility of the federal government. Moving the police from the exclusive list would imply allocating funds to the responsibility. He was of view, the funding of community police will increase the burden on state governments.

Governor Akeredolu had declared: “The burden of states will keep increasing. We will be the ones that will fund community police. Where is the money going to come from?

“Except we devolve more money to the states, how will the states fund community police?  I don’t think it is going to work,” he said.

“I am sure that they are taking this thing too far (that) governors will have to pay. We have argued this. They started by saying it will be voluntary, they are not going to pay.

“They now shift the burden on the state governors again. Are you increasing their allocation? Which state governor will accept that?

“I don’t know if other states will pay but we will not pay. Let us be fair to ourselves, we are running a federal system. We will sit down and discuss this because we have a President that has a listening ear.”