The Senate has passed the Nigerian Police Trust Fund bill.
The lawmakers passed the bill during plenary on Tuesday, as well as three others.
They are National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) Bill, Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Bill, as well as Animal Disease Control Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill.
The four bills were read and passed for the second and third time while the Federal University of Education, Nsugbe (Est, etc) Bill, 2018, was stood down for further legislative input.
Reacting to the passage of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund bill, the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, noted that it would help in improving the security architecture of the country.
Although he identified the issue of funding as one of the major concerns, Senator Saraki believed the bill would provide the funding needed for training and recruitment of personnel.
”I am confident that by the time we lay the report on the Police Reform Bill, we would have gone a long way in moving the police in the right direction,” he said.
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According to the Senate President, the bill will reduce the burden on the military and focus on its constitutional responsibilities when signed into law.
He said, “I thank my colleagues for these bills for concurrence, particularly the bill on the Nigerian Police Trust Fund.
“By passing this bill, we will be creating big strides towards providing and improving security and the policing in our country.”
“It is our view that once we have these police bills as laws, we will relieve the burden on the military so that it can focus on its Constitutional responsibility,” Saraki added.
