• Gbajabiamila defends state police
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Presidential contenders, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and Omoyele Sowore, yesterday, clashed over Nigeria’s security crisis, fuel subsidy, general governance and the country’s political future at the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
This was as the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, defended the federal government’s proposed state police reforms.
The presidential candidates’ panel, one of the major highlights of the second day of the conference, produced keen exchanges as the politicians offered competing explanations for Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, poverty and governance challenges ahead of the 2027 elections.
The debate became particularly heated when Sowore challenged the records of former Rivers State governor and presidential hopeful, Amaechi, while also criticising former governors and other political leaders for policies he said had impoverished Nigerians.
Sowore, who maintained his opposition to the removal of fuel subsidy, accused successive governments of subsidising the lifestyles of the political elite rather than protecting poor Nigerians.
“The question about subsidy is, who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the governors. The only people who are doing well since they removed subsidy were the governors of states.
“And when they talk about subsidy, they make it sound like they have not removed subsidy before. I was a student in 1988, I mean in 1989, they removed subsidy. In 1990, they removed subsidy. They said Nigeria will be better. We are in 2026, they are still removing subsidy.”
Amaechi, while hitting back, rejected Sowore’s interpretation of his record and defending his political experience and the coalition involving former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
He said the coalition remained committed to defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the political establishment of allowing corruption and electoral manipulation to thrive.
Amaechi also defended his record on appointments, arguing that during his tenure as transport minister, he ensured representation from different parts of the country in appointments under his ministry.
Obi, on his part, offered a different prescription for insecurity, linking the problem directly to poverty and Nigeria’s failure to become a productive economy.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate argued that Nigeria was not inherently poor but had been impoverished by corruption, weak leadership and the failure to invest adequately in agriculture and other productive sectors.
According to him, reducing poverty and transforming Nigeria from a consumption-based economy into a productive one would be central to tackling insecurity.
Obi also criticised the political class for exploiting ethnic and religious divisions, saying politicians were responsible for deepening divisions that ordinary Nigerians did not necessarily share.
“Nigeria is poor because those of us who are leaders are stealing the wealth of Nigeria and driving Nigeria into poverty. We can decide. Nigeria is poor today because it is not a productive country. Nigeria is one of the hungriest countries in the world. We got worse in the past three years.
“Where we now move from where we are to 109 in the hungriest country. Some of you might not know that in the past two years, Ukraine, that is at war, gave us grain to fight hunger. We are hungry because Nigeria is not a productive country.
“If we decide today to invest in critical areas of development, which include pulling people out of poverty, by investing in agriculture, we can make more money from agriculture than we make from oil,” he stressed.
The candidates largely backed state police, although the Social Democratic Party candidate advocated a three-tier policing structure involving federal, state and local governments.
Earlier, Gbajabiamila, in his keynote address titled: “Policing in Transition,” defended the federal government’s decision to proceed with the establishment of state police, saying the reform was intended to address longstanding weaknesses in Nigeria’s centralised policing system.
He warned that state policing without adequate safeguards could create further disorder.
Gbajabiamila said Nigeria’s police-to-population ratio remained inadequate, noting that the country had about one police officer for every 650 people against an international benchmark of approximately one to 450.
“Nigeria currently has approximately one police officer for every 650 citizens, compared with the widely used international benchmark of one officer for every 450 people.
“On paper alone, this leaves the country roughly 160,000 officers short. The practical deficit is greater because not every officer on the nominal strength is available for routine policing in our communities.
“When you consider that over an estimated 100,000 officers are deployed on administrative and special protection duties, the shortfall becomes even greater.
“State Police Services can expand the presence available across the country and place responsibility closer to the people affected by failure.
“However, increasing the numbers without changing the standard will create a greater danger. Police authority includes the power to search, arrest, detain and, in defined circumstances, use force.
“Entry into that profession should be among the most exacting processes in public service. Political recommendation cannot replace a background check. Training must prepare officers to understand the law, preserve evidence and exercise force within lawful limits.”
Former Cross River State governor Donald Duke, said getting leadership right was fundamental to solving Nigeria’s broader problems, while urging Nigerians to overcome the ethnic considerations that continue to shape presidential politics.