N547.750 Billion Not Enough To Police Nigeria In 2022, Remove Police from Envelope System Of Budgeting, IGP Tells National Assembly
- Decries Non-release Of Budgetary Allocation
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on Wednesday appealed to members of the National Assembly to prevail on the Federal government to remove the police from the envelope system of budgeting.
The IGP who noted that the over N500 billion budgetary allocation to the Nigeria Police to discharge its duties in the coming year was inadequate, also told the lawmakers that the envelope is something forced on the Police not minding the complexity of its responsibilities in the society.
The IGP said besides challenges posed by the envelope system of budgeting, the non-release of appropriated funds was also a critical militating factor against the operations of the force.
According to him, the projection of police for 2022 was N555, 795, 101, 305.50, but was reduced to the sum of N547, 750, 809, 108.29 under the envelope budgetary system.
In the words of Baba, who appeared before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Police Affairs, “There are three critical challenges that I want to highlight. One is the inadequate budgetary appropriation which does not support the operation of optical service delivery and police modernization reform plan of the Force.”
Two, the envelope budgetary system of the Federal Government which gives a funding ceiling to the Nigerian Police without due cognizance of the scope of the omnibus and complex mandate of the Force, should also be reviewed.
Thirdly, non-release of appropriated funds which impact on institutional planning, operations, projection and budget implementation should also be looked into,” he said.
The police boss called for the removal of the Nigeria Police from the envelope budgetary regime to enable the Force to properly project its funding requirements for budgetary appropriation, operational planning and optimal service delivery
He also called for the approval of adequate funds for the newly established Special Operations Account of the Force to enable the Nigeria Police effectively and promptly respond to unanticipated national security emergencies and to support ongoing special operations across the country.
He urged the National Assembly to deploy its legislative instrumentality to make a strong case for the prompt and full release of funds appropriated to the Nigeria Police in the 2022 budget.
Baba called for the approval and allocation of funds under the 2022 Budget for the Zonal Police Headquarters that were recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari so they can fully commence operations.
He also called for the approval and allocation of funds for the operations of the Nigeria Police Special Operational and Tactical Units including the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Special Forces (SF), and Special Tactical Squads (STS) with a view to enhancing their critical internal security operations.
Baba also called for legislation to approve a self-accounting status for Nigeria Police Training Institutions and Colleges in order to effectively position them for their human capacity development functions in furtherance to the long-term reform agenda of the Federal Government.
Source: Independent
