Akpabio’s aide rebuts Peter Obi over the state police bill

Tijani Mustapha, the media aide to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, responded to criticism of the State Police Bill from Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi.

In a post on X on Friday, Mustapha claimed that Obi had not read the legislation before making his remarks.

Obi had previously denounced the Senate’s passage of the bill, calling the process rushed and lacking proper legislative procedure. He argued that the manner in which the bill was adopted raised public suspicion about the political motives behind it.

Obi also warned that the legislative process appeared disorganised, citing the absence of a public hearing and expressing concern that state police could be used by governors to suppress political opponents.

Mustapha dismissed these concerns, stating that they indicated Obi had not fully examined the bill as passed.

He pointed out that the bill already contains provisions for the establishment of an independent State Police Service Commission, addressing Obi’s main point.

“I know this because his major concern of the creation of an independent State Police Service Commission was duly addressed in the bill,” Mustapha wrote.

“For a man who doesn’t know the meaning of KPI, one again wonders what this individual’s mental capacities are,” he added.