News
Mark, Others Back Amaechi On State Police … As Senate Probes N135bn Police Reform Fund

L-R: Chairman, Commomwealth Business Council, Mr Mohan Kowl, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr Samuel Ortom and Senior Special Adviser to the Vice President on Special Duties, Mr Isiah Balat, at the Commonwealth Business Forum during 2013 CHOGM in Colombo , Sri Lanka, yesterday.
In tune with the position of the Rivers State Governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the leadership of the senate has thrown its weight behind the creation of state police.
President of the Senate, David Mark and Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, were among those who spoke in favour of state police at plenary yesterday, echoing the position of Governor Amaechi who had remained vocal in his conviction that the creation of state police would promote true federalism and effective policing of the federation.
Contributing to the debate, Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, opined that the time was ripe to create State Police, saying that the Nigeria Police Force is suffering from “structural defect”.
Ndoma-Egba spoke further: “The mentality of the police is still rooted in our colonial history.
“No matter how much you bring, you are not going to change the police. “The idea of a single police for all the country is inconsistent with a federal system. “This motion affords us the opportunity to restructure the police in line to what is obtainable in federalism.”
The Senate leader’s position was supported by Umaru Dahiru (PDP-Sokoto), who also canvassed for creation of State Police, adding: “I will certainly support the creation of State Police as 2015 approaches.
“As it is today, nobody can trust the Federal Police to provide security for the people.
The time is ripe for us to include State Police as key issue for discussion at the national conference.”
Senator Smart Adeyemi (PDP- Kogi), in his contribution, stressed the need to reappraise the manner police funds are being disbursed.
According to Adeyemi: “We need to find out what is happening to their allocation and how money is being disbursed to the Police. “There is nothing wrong with having a State Police.
“We must begin to look at ways to make a policeman committed and passionate about his job by providing them with the good things of life.”
Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC-Lagos) also backed the call for State Police, saying the issue deserves all seriousness and should therefore, not be trivialized.
Tinubu said: “The entire nation is not happy with the Police. “We requested for State Police but many of us voted against it here. “We as the Senate can do something about it right here before it even gets to the national conference.”
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said the lawmakers must take a decision to secure the nation, calling for urgent decentralization of the police.
Ekweremadu said: “About N140 billion had been made available for the reforms between 2010 and 2013 but unfortunately with these huge funds, we are not going to achieve anything with the Police. “We must make up our minds to secure our people by decentralising the Police.”
On his part, the Senate President, David Mark, also backed those calling for creation of State Police to effect structural changes for effective policing.
Mark said: “I used to be a strong advocate of federal government police or central police.
“I am sure you have noticed that sometimes ago I also changed my mind to say that maybe we should experiment with State Police and see what it is. “There are basic problems with the current system but we must try to address them in a manner that has nothing to do with politics in any form at all because if this country does not survive, we will not play politics also.”
Meanwhile, Senate yesterday resolved to investigate whether the sum of N135 billion released for police reforms between 2010 and 2013 had been judiciously spent or not.
This followed a motion tabled at plenary by Abubakar Tutare (PDP-Taraba) on the level of funding and implementation of the Nigeria Police Reform Programme.
According to Tutare, despite huge sums already committed into the reform programme, there is nothing to show for it.
Consequently, the Upper Chamber mandated its Committee on Police Affairs to look into the books of the police as it relates to the reform programme.
In 2010, the Federal government came up with a reform agenda, which is aimed at addressed lack of offices, residential accommodation, operational vehicles as well as communication equipment so as to make the police more professional.
News
FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
News
FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
News
KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
-
Sports2 days ago
CAFCL : Rivers United Arrives DR Congo
-
Sports2 days ago
FIFA rankings: S’Eagles drop Position, remain sixth in Africa
-
Sports2 days ago
NPFL club name Iorfa new GM
-
Sports2 days ago
NNL abolishes playoffs for NPFL promotion
-
Sports2 days ago
Kwara Hopeful To Host Confed Cup in Ilorin
-
Sports2 days ago
NSF: Early preparations begin for 2026 National Sports Festival
-
Sports2 days ago
RSG Award Renovation Work At Yakubu Gowon Stadium
-
Sports2 days ago
RSG Pledges To Develop Baseball