By Daniel Abia

P/Harcourt

More than five presidential candidates of various opposition political parties on Monday clashed as they took on one another on issues bordering on Nigeria’s security architecture and the future of policing,. This is as the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, defended the administration’s push for state police reforms and other policies

The second panel session of the day, which featured the presidential candidates, proved to be the most engaging of the conference, with discussions centred on security, police reform, state policing, elections, and fuel subsidy. This contrasted with an earlier session featuring AAC candidate, Omoyele Sowore, senator Dino Melaye, and others, where Melaye’s contributions were largely muted.

One of the defining moments of the session was an exchange between Sowore and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi who is also the vice presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Rotimi Amaechi explained that Nigeria economy is very bad, and that one of the ways to stabilize the economy is to create employment and encourage local content ,so that there will be money in people’s pocket for circulation

He recalled that he built over 500 primary schools ,over three hundred health centres ,over two hundred roads and crimes drastically reduced , hinting that he fought insecurity to a standstill with adequate intelligence gathering as a sitting governor.

Amaechi hinted that he will support community police over state police, because community policing will primarily detect real issues , adding that the Atiku /Amaechi ticket when elected, will be detrabalised in political appointment,to ensure that it will spread across the country, unlike president Tinubu ,who has concentrated all appointments in the agencies around the Yoruba

On the question of policing, most candidates on the panel expressed support for the adoption of state police, but the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewale Adebayo pushed instead for a three-tier structure encompassing federal, state, and local government policing.

On security, Sowore and Adebayo argued that a change in national leadership was required to address Nigeria’s security challenges, insisting that what they described as “terrorists in the Presidential villa” needed to be voted out for meaningful progress to be made.

On the issue of fuel subsidy removal, Sowore said “If there is anybody that has been consistent in the removal of fuel subsidy, it has been me. The question about fuel subsidy is: who are you subsidizing? You are subsidizing the elite. You are subsidizing the governors. The only people who are doing well since the removal of fuel subsidy are the governors of states.

“I was a student in 1988. In 1999, they removed subsidy. In 1999, they removed subsidy. We are in 2026, they are still removing subsidy. They are robbing Peter Obi to pay Bola Tinubu. That is what the removal of subsidy is all about. The poor people of this country only benefit from subsidy on petrol, gasoline. There is no subsidy on kerosene. What did they build with it? When it comes to subsidy, transportation policy is important”, he said.

The Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, took a different approach, emphasizing poverty reduction as central to reducing insecurity in the country.

“Nigeria must move from a consumption country to a production country. We must invest heavily in agriculture”, Obi said.

Despite the differing positions, the panel was described as lively and substantive, with a shared recognition among candidates that major police reforms remain necessary.

On democracy and governance, Sowore promised that individuals found to have stolen the nation’s resources would be brought to justice under his administration, if he emerged as the winner of the 2027 presidential election.

Also speaking, former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, said that getting leadership right remained the fundamental key to addressing Nigeria’s broader challenges. “If we get the leadership right, everything else will fall into place,” he said, decrying the scourge of ethnicity in Nigerian politics and calling for collective efforts to improve the country’s presidential system of government.

In a keynote address titled “Policing in Transition,” the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, spoke extensively on the administration’s reforms, why they matter, and the standards by which the administration’s work should be judged.

Gbajabiamila said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had decided to confront a truth the country had ignored for too long by proceeding with the establishment of state police. “Centralized policing without safeguards will bring about more chaos,” he said, explaining that the reform introduces a dual policing system designed to correct existing imbalances. “Nigerians must receive equal protection in every state, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or others,” he added.

He stressed the importance of first agreeing on the specific problems the reforms are meant to solve. “It’s important that we agree on the specific nature of the problems we’re trying to solve with these reforms,” he said, citing the problem of police reach as a key example.

“Nigeria has one policeman for every 650 people, compared to the international benchmark of one policeman to every 450,” he noted, adding that the disparity becomes even more concerning “when you take note that most policemen are deployed for administrative and escort duties.”

Gbajabiamila stressed the need for proper training to prepare officers to enforce the law effectively. “Training must prepare officers to enforce the law properly, professionalism is also very important,” he said, adding that, “policing should become a respected career that every Nigerian chooses.”

Addressing the question of oversight, he asked: “Who polices the police?” He argued that “a governor elected by the people cannot be denied the right to carry out executive duties,” but stressed that “a governor shouldn’t be allowed to order the arrest of a political opponent.” He added that “an officer who refuses an unlawful command must be protected as well,” insisting that “these protections mustn’t be just by word of mouth, but by strengthened institutions.” He further addressed concerns around the potential for partisan misuse of police powers under the proposed reforms.

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