The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, said the establishment of state police is imperative if the country hopes to effectively tackle its security challenges.

Kalu stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on his return from Geneva, Switzerland, where he attended the 55th Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization/Inter-Parliamentary Union (WTO-IPU) Public Forum 2025.

The Deputy Speaker, who noted that Nigeria?s current centralized policing structure was inadequate and falls below global standards, said there is need to unbundle the existing structure.

According to him, ?On the State Police bill that is before the parliament, we are thinking about the response time of policing in Nigeria which at the moment is below the global standard.

?The only way we can achieve this is if we unbundle it from the way it is centralized like what other countries are doing: Municipal police, State Police. And just the constitution is clear on what is on the concurrent and exclusive lists.

?Certain subject matters will now be handled by the State Police and Federal Police respectively if we set it up and break it down the way Nigerians want it and that?s why we are calling for the national public hearing on Monday. Let?s have this conversation on issues like this to know whether you want it or not, or should it be tailored in one way or the other.

?There may be fears of hijacking it; but we cannot because of that deny the majority of Nigerians the security of lives and property that we promised them as a government. So, we should be looking at the bigger picture. Everyone in Nigeria may not be a politician but everyone needs security of lives and property.

?So, we are saying which one should we go for? The greater good or the fear of the minor threat? I think we should go for the greater good so that the good in the majority will suppress the threat in the minority.?

The Deputy Speaker, while speaking on the WTO/IPU conference, stated that Nigeria was among the eight countries represented on the steering committee, which examined how to make digital trade an engine of inclusive growth.

Kalu contended that for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to succeed, digital trade must be embedded as a central pillar.

?Digital trade is taking the day across the world at the moment, increasing economic growth by about 25 percent,? he said. ?We must fit into this space, both globally and as a continent.

?Our argument was that there should be a legislative tracking tool that would enable countries to measure how far they have gone with implementing laws on digital trade and compare progress. Sub-regional and continental bodies like ECOWAS, the Pan-African Parliament, and the IPU should take this up,? he explained. (The Sun)

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