AS the debate over the establishment of state police continues ahead of the second ammendment of the 1999 Constitution, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Olubunmi Adetumbi, has said that the best approach to resolve the matter is to 'allow all the states to decidehow much they could pay their workers instead of a federally determined salary structure.'At a media parley held in Abuja, Adetumbi said that since the revenue profile of the states are different 'there is no justification in having the same salary structure for the police in different states.'Raising issues to support the position held in some quarters that the Nigeria Police is ripe for re-structuring, Adetumbi held that 'the argument that same-levelpublic service workers across the country and in the states should earn same salary is an aberration.'Such a situation is not sustainable; it is alien to modern governance the world over as is the idea of a uniform minimum wage across the country.'He noted for instance that the standard of living index in Lagos is different from that of Taraba.'So, to think that a worker in Taraba or Jigawa has the same cost structure as his counterpart in Lagos, Abuja or Portharcout is unfair and pure injustice.' It is also wrong to premise the viability of state police on that conjecture.'Referring to a study he carried out recently, Adetumbi said : 'It is practically impossible for a staff of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) to earn same salary with a police officer.'For instance, the average staff in Lagos generates on per capita basis, between N250, 000 to N300, 000 from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) every month. If you take the total IGR of Lagos and divide it by total the number of staff in the state's Civil Service, it comes to about N250, 000 and N300, 000. Such a staff can earn between N22, 000 or even N100, 000 because his productivity is high enough to absorb the cost.'But there are states where the IGR per staff is as low as N3000. It would therefore be difficult for a worker whose revenue potential to government is just N3000 to start demanding for a wage of N18, 000,.'These are the kinds of issues we should address.'He also suggested that the culture in the private sector should also be the same in the public service, saying : 'Those who are not in the Civil Service are also entitled to the common wealth.'Adetumbi said a situation where the entire resources in a state are used to service less than three percent of the population 'cannot bring about any development.'It makes no sense. People should not consider my position as anti-labour; I am for the labour that delivers value for money. But this is not what we are getting n the country today.'Reacting to the recent opposition to state police by the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), Adetumbi said: 'The fact that the 36 state governors had earlier agreed to the concept of state policing sometime in April this year, only for them to turn around now to oppose same gives room for concern. I am surprise at the volte-face of governors from the North.'The Nigeria Governors Forum resolved in favour of state police before the regional coloration to the whole consensus came up. My concern is that if there is any part of the country where state police is supposed to have immediate impact and result, it is in areas where there are subsisting security challenges.'But the question we should ask ourselves is whether the present federal policing arrangement will sustain the country''The Ogoni have just made a declaration of self determination while others are insisting that they will not support the elected president.''The need to reform the country is becoming obvious to all Nigerians.'It is an issue that has been debated several times. A section of the country should stop thinking that it can create a kind of Nigeria that will hold others to ransom because the opportunity to sustain our country lies in the response of the establishment, including the Executive and Legislature to the popular yearnings for change from the way the country is currently being run.'Rather than allow sectional interests to becloud our sense of judgment , we should find out from ordinary Nigerians in every part of the country, whether indeed state police is something they consider healthy or not.'In any case what is wrong in conducting a referendum' It is a call for more work, more consultations so that we don't dance to the tune completely different from that in the ears of the people.'Adetumbi admitted that even the legislature is in a quandary over the matter but assured that there will be a way out.'The legislature is in a very difficult situation. The powers of the legislature to tamper with the constitution are limited to the provisions for constitution amendment.'The legislature is not a Constituent Assembly thatwrites constitutions while the legislature makes and amends laws. The legislature cannot go outside the established constitutional procedure to tamper with the constitution. Its powers are limited by the constitution. The only way is for us to continue in the direction we are going, to follow through this constitution review agenda and for more members of the public to submit more memoranda that will reflect their true wishes.
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