Mr Ado Doguwa, the House of Representatives Majority Leader, has said the National Assembly does not spare any chance to ensure the Nigeria Police Force gets adequate funding.
However, he noted, how the funds are utilised or disbursed, or whether they get to the officers, is beyond the legislators and for the relevant authorities to explain.
The lawmaker spoke on Channel TV, Thursday morning while addressing issues surrounding new legislation on policing in the wake of perceived atrocities attached to some units of the police, especially SARS.
The Majority Leader said although there were many laws guiding the operations of the police, what the House was working on was a parliamentary intervention to ensure institutional commitment.
Doguwa added that “we are working on giving the Nigeria Police Force a new lease of life.
”We’re working with specialised bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, for a clear-cut, robust and comprehensive statement on what to scrap, strengthen or establish.”
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Asked if welfare was part of the reasons some officers were misbehaving, the lawmaker said no.
“In fact,” he added, “our police force has the fund to perform just like the best policing body anywhere in the world.
“I challenge any police officer, from top to bottom, to prove to me that their problem is funding.
“Whether budgetary allocation, virement or supplementary allocation, the National Assembly has always given primacy to security agents’ welfare.
“All the relevant committees are given a standing order not to cut funds meant for security agents.
“Their salaries, allowances, pensions and so on are well taken care of. How the relevant authorities disburse these funds is beyond us.”
Also with Doguwa on the programme was Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins, the 1st Vice President of NBA, who said the problem with the police was not salary or welfare, but a lack of passion for the job by officers.
Aikpokpo-Martins said: “The salary structure in Nigeria generally is poor. So it’s not an excuse. “The problem is that these officers lack passion for the job. They are bitter. Many of them never wanted to be policemen. “But it was the only job available. And then you put a gun in such a person’s hands.”
