Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has reiterated the need for state policing in Nigeria.

Governor Amosun stated this on Tuesday while speaking during the State Governor Panel session of the Nigeria Summit, organised by The Economist magazine in Lagos.

While addressing factors that could aid sustainable development at the state level, the governor said: “I don’t see any reason why states can’t have their own police. A situation where I am called the Chief Security Officer of my state and the police in the state reports not to me but to somebody in Abuja is not right.”

Amosun equally pointed at other areas where the lopsided nature of the Nigerian federation affects development at the state level.

“A situation where somebody will sit in Abuja and decide to issue mining licenses or decide on what to do in certain parts of the country where he himself has probably not been to is not good for our development,” Amosun said.

The governor also identified agriculture as one key sector that can lead Nigeria into industrialisation and solve the FOREX crisis the nation is currently facing.

“Agriculture is one thing that will lead Nigeria into industrialisation. We also need to create clusters of SMEs that can add value to our agricultural production,” Governor Amosun said.

He added that “FG should totally hands off agriculture and let the individual states focus more on their areas of strength.”

Amosun’s views in this respect were re-echoed by Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State Governor, and Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Nasarawa State Governor, both of whom were also on the Governors’ panel.

The Ogun State Governor seized the occasion to express his support for the decision of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration not to devalue the naira in the face of the current economic crisis.

“The solution is not to devalue the Naira. The solution is when we stop being an importing nation,” Amosun said.

•Photo shows, L-R; Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa) at the State Governors Panel Session of the Nigeria Summit, ‎organised by the Economist Magazine in Lagos . . . today.

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