Mariam Adebukola 
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday called on the 10th National Assembly to commence actions that would lead to the establishment of state policing in the state.
The Lagos Assembly made this call in its maiden plenary held on Tuesday since its inauguration last month.
According to the statement issued by the Media aide to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, Eromosele Ebhomele, the House called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to urgently equip the Neighbourhood Safety Corps of the State so that its personnel could effectively perform the task of community policing.
These actions, according to the Speaker of the House, would stem the increasing spate of insecurity in the country.
New Telegraph recalls that in some of the latest attacks, the Speaker said he read about the killing of some residents in Plateau State. He also noted the abduction of the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Paul Omotoso.
“While I commend the Ninth National Assembly for doing a lot to amend the constitution, there is a need for us to call on the 10th National Assembly to see it as a matter of urgency to make the issue of state policing a major factor of development,” Obasa said.
Supporting the Speaker, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, commended the Speaker for bringing up the issue of state policing again.
“We remember very well that it was you that sponsored the bill on Neighbourhood Safety Corps and we see what it has done for our State and how other states are copying it,” Yishawu said.
While noting that President Bola Tinubu started well with moves to rejig the economy, Hon. Yishawu said security remains at the heart of a country’s progress urging for more focus in this area.
The motion was supported by other lawmakers who complained about the inadequate number of police personnel in Lagos and also suggested police reforms at the national level.
The lawmakers argued further that the establishment of state police would boost employment across the country.
Meanwhile, the House, through Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on his election as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The House said it believes in Tinubu’s capacity to bring the countries under ECOWAS to work together.
At the plenary, the House also resolved a report relating to issues of legislative compliance on the appointment of some Governor’s nominees without the approval of the House of Assembly. The lawmakers called on the Executive arm to henceforth act in conformity with the law.
