Council of state approves repeal, re-enactment of Police Trust Fund Act… raises allocation to 1%

The council of state has approved an upward review of the statutory allocation to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the federation account.

Briefing State House correspondents on Thursday at the end of the council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, Ibrahim Gaidam, minister of police affairs, said the NPTF, established in 2019, has a renewable lifespan clause of six years.

“The purpose of establishing the Nigerian Police Trust Fund was to support training and retraining of police personnel. The second is to provide financial resources to enhance police equipment, logistics and infrastructure,” Gaidam said.

“It was established also to support modernisation of the police through investments in technology, vehicles, communications and crime fighting tools.

“It is also to improve welfare and morale of police personnel, promote accountability, transparency and governance, and enhance crime prevention and public safety.”

The minister lamented that the fund’s original design contains what he termed a constraining “sunset clause,” limiting its lifespan to six years.

“The sunset clause in the current Act limits the lifespan of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund and impedes long-term planning, thereby constraining sustainable police reform,” he noted.

As a result, he said the council also approved the proposal to repeal the legislation that established the agency and re-enact the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act, 2025.

He added that the proposal seeks to remove the sunset clause of the fund and transition the NPFT into a permanent agency.

“The council approved the repeal and re-enactment of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Establishment Act, 2025, to remove the sunset clause and institutionalise the fund as a permanent agency,” he said.

“The council approved the increase of statutory deduction from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the federation account.

“The 1 percent allocation from the federation account will provide a financial buffer for critical police functions, especially during budgetary delays or constraints.”

He disclosed that the council directed the attorney-general of the federation to incorporate the proposals into an executive bill for transmission to the national assembly.(The Cable)