The Senate, Tuesday, passed the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Bill (HB 1583) for onward transmission to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law.
The passage of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund by the Senate came barely one week after the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki assured the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, that the senate would fast-track its work on both the Police Trust Fund Bill and the Police Reform Bill.
The Police Trust Fund Bill, which had earlier been passed by the House of Representatives, aims at provide a legal framework for the management and control of the special intervention funds established under the Act for the training of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.
The Trust Fund will also be utilized to enhance the skills of the personnel of the Police, to ensure their efficiency, performance, and constant improvement while performing their duties.
Also, the Trust Fund will be used to ensure that the Nigeria Police Force has the necessary operational equipment, instructional materials, police stations and staff quarters.
In related development, the Senate passed three others bills to be forwarded to President Buhari for his assent.
The three other bills passed are the National Institute for Security Studies, NISS, Abuja bill, 2019 (HB1583), Hamonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Bill, 2019 (HB 1554), and Animal Disease Control Act (Repeal& Re-enactment) Bill, 2019 (HB 1268) were also passed by the senate.
Reacting to the Senate’s passage of the Bill, Saraki said: “By passing this bill, we will be creating big strides towards providing and improving security and the policing in our country.
“One of the major concerns has always been the issue of funding. We believe that this bill will provide the funding needed for training and recruitment. 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.
“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.”
The Bill will now be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.
