Nigeria’s Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday read out a letter addressed to him by President Muhammadu Buhari seeking the lawmakers to consider and approve the 2021 Police Trust Fund budget estimates.
In the letter, Buhari said his request was pursuant to Section 4 (5) and 21 of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Establishment Act 2019.
Buhari noted that the budget estimates were to ensure procurement of state-of-the-art security equipment, operational vehicles and other related facilities.
He explained that the budget would also ensure enhanced skills of personnel of NPF in handling operational equipment as well as help in the construction of police stations, barracks and procurement of essential training materials.
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The president said the budget would aid in the payment for the participation of personnel of NPF for seminars, conferences and other skills acquisitions courses.
The letter read thus: “I hereby forward the 2021 budget proposal of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund (NPTF) for the kind consideration and passages of the Senate.
“The estimates of revenue and expenditure in the 2021 proposal are consistent with statutory functions of the NPTF in terms of providing funding through a special intervention fund for training and re-training of personnel of Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to enhance their skills.
“For the moral improvement performance and efficiency in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.
“Why appreciating the usual expeditious consideration of this submission, please accept distinguished Senate President. the assurances of my highest consideration.”
Last week Thursday, the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs endorsed N11 billion as a capital component of the 2020 Appropriation for the Nigerian Police Trust Fund.
While giving an update on the budget defence, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Haliru Fika, commended President Buhari’s administration on the establishment of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund.
According to him, “Sometime in 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Police Trust Fund bill into law and subsequently, the board was inaugurated.
“And for about 10 months now they have not started properly. So this is the first budget they brought following the approval of the National Assembly to extend the capital aspect of the budget.
“So the same thing is applicable to the Police Trust Fund, we are approving only the capital aspect of the budget up to 31st of March, 2021 when we are expecting the 2021 estimates of the Trust Fund to come before both chambers of the National Assembly.
“You may recall that the source of funding of the Trust Fund is 0.5% of the revenue accruable to the Federation Account and other levies from companies doing business in Nigeria, that is the source of the fund, so it is not the statutory allocation, it is a deduction from the revenue.”
Fika assured that the joint committee would carry out its oversight function on the fund with a view to ensuring proper implementation of the N11 billion that was approved for capital expenditure.
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