•Backs the President on State PoliceLoud on why
•It may be difficult to defeat him in 2027
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Former Governor of Sokoto State and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has expressed strong support for President Bola Tinubu’s push for the establishment of state police, stressing that it is a necessary step to address the worsening insecurity in the country.
Speaking on Friday night during Channels Television’s Politics Today, monitored in Abuja, Tambuwal painted a grim picture of the security situation in Sokoto State, particularly in his senatorial district.
On the debate around state police, the lawmaker dismissed concerns about possible misuse, insisting that Nigeria’s peculiar challenges demand such an institution.
“I am no longer a governor but I support state police. Yes, we have federal police, but part of the problem is that when you post someone from Sokoto to Enugu, he doesn’t understand the terrain or the language. In any case, we need more boots on the ground in the police and the army,” he said.
Tambuwal emphasised that establishing state police must go hand-in-hand with adequate recruitment, improved welfare and the provision of modern tools for security personnel.
“We need to recruit more hands. Their welfare and remuneration are also key. When a personnel gets killed in the field, what happens to their families? This welfare should go beyond the personnel alone,” he added.
Tambuwal’s position aligns with Tinubu’s renewed push for constitutional reforms to enable states establish their own police formations, amid widespread concerns over rising insecurity across the country.
Payment to bandits
He also said he was not aware of information that bandits were being paid by the federal government or anyone.
He sought the assistance of the president to end banditry in Sokoto State.
While he said he is 100 percent committed to the legitimate activities of the anti-Tinubu coalition to prevent his reelection, Tambuwal said he remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and would hope that the PDP and the African Democratic Congress ADC work together as a coalition to defeat Tinubu.
He said the battle to send Tinubu packing in 2027 is a national consensus, not a Northern conspiracy.
Tambuwal said it will be difficult to defeat Tinubu if Abubakar Atiku, Peter Obi, Goodluck Jonathan, Rotimi Amaechi and Rabiu Kwankwaso decide to have an individual go at the presidency instead of working together to field one person.
On whether he ever paid bandits as governor or if he knows whether any official is paying the bandits, Tambuwal answered in the negative.
“I am not aware. I do not know. I cannot claim to know that bandits are being paid by anyone”, he said in answer to a specific question about claims by a former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai alleging that the Tinubu administration was paying bandits.
He lamented that bandits have taken over his senatorial district. “They have almost taken over every local government in Sokoto South and Sokoto East. The situation is getting worse. As I speak with you, Shagari Local Government has been evacuated — the villagers have fled and the terrorists are in charge. The same thing is happening in Tureta, Bodinga and other areas,” he lamented.
Tambuwal, who also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, noted that the attackers operate mainly as bandits, engaging in kidnapping and killings.
He stressed the need for a coordinated and simultaneous military offensive, pointing out that most of the criminal gangs retreat from Zamfara into Sokoto when pressured by security operatives.
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