Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, says Nigeria can no longer delay the creation of state police if it hopes to tackle its security challenges effectively.

Kalu spoke with journalists in Abuja after returning from Geneva, Switzerland, where he attended the 55th parliamentary conference on the World Trade Organisation/Inter-Parliamentary Union (WTO-IPU) public forum 2025.

He said the country’s centralised policing structure is inadequate and far behind global standards.

Kalu, who was earlier hosted by Nigerian students at the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States, said decentralising the system is the only way forward.

His words: “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 centralised like what other countries are doing: municipal police, state police.

“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. That’s why we are calling for the national public hearing on Monday.

“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.”

Kalu said Nigerians showed patriotism by standing with President Bola Tinubu on the removal of fuel subsidy and other tough reforms, adding that the decisions were necessary to reposition the economy.

He commended state governments for driving diversification efforts, saying it would boost job creation and citizens’ welfare.

“We are looking forward to the benefits of these reforms, going forward.

“This is the time for everybody’s hands to be on deck. We cannot afford to be distracted. It is time to move Nigeria forward,” he added.