The National Assembly Joint committee on Police Affairs has approved the sum of N74 billion as the 2021 budget for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF).
The approved funds is to enable the Nigeria Police Trust Fund to fully take off and fund its operations.
This disclosure was made by the Executive Secretary of NPTF, Mr Ahmad Sokoto, on Wednesday, May 18, 2021, in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Police Affairs.
This is also coming as the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Alkhali Baba, had earlier lamented the state of infrastructure and deplorable state of police barracks across the country, which he said required urgent attention.
The NPTF boss pointed out that the N74 billion budget captured all the demands of the fund which included training and retraining of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.
He said that the budget would ensure procurement of state of the art equipment for the police, assuring that the equipment would be the latest and excellent for the enhancement of skills of the police personnel.
Sokoto said, “I am assuring you that the Police Trust Fund will leave no stone unturned in carrying out our assigned responsibilities for better policing of Nigeria.”
What you should know
The Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Bill (“Police Trust Fund Act” or “the Act”) was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 24, 2019.
The Act establishes the Nigeria Police Trust Fund to provide funds for the training and welfare of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and for the provision of state-of-the-art security equipment. The Act also states that the Trust Fund would consist of funds from a levy of 0.005% of the net profit of companies operating businesses in Nigeria, amongst other sources.