Nigeria’s lawmakers in the Federal House of Representatives have taken the first step by passing the first reading of the bill seeking to scrap the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Honourable Shina Peller, representing lseyin/ltesiwaju/ Kajola/lwajowa Federal Constituency in Oyo State, who presented the bill on Tuesday is of the view that responsibilities of the NSCDC be taken over by the Nigeria Police Force.
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According to the bill, there should be an established transition management committee to superintend over the NSCDC, develop regulations and implement procedures for the transfer of assets and personnel of the corps to the Nigeria Police Force, and other related matters.
Peller, in his bill titled the “National Security and Civil Defence Corps (Repeal and Transition) Bill 2022″, argued that expending security resources across multiple competing agencies is counterproductive.
The lawmakers also noted that the mandate of the NSCDC “has now become a duplication of the Nigeria Police Force,” adding that such duplication has led to avoidable conflicts between the two agencies.
Peller, who stated that the annual budget of the NSCDC was almost N100bn, argued that such budget is a “waste of scarce resources”, as “every single function of the NSCDC can be done or is being done by the Nigeria Police Force.
“The assets and personnel of the NSCDC will be absorbed by the Nigeria Police. So, no loss of jobs,” he added.
Established by an Act in 2007, the NSCDC was mandated to assist in maintaining peace and order, as well as protecting the civil population during periods of emergency, among several other duties.
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