By Abbas Nazil
Governors under the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum have agreed to push for a constitutionally sound framework for state police while also backing national nutrition, agriculture, and renewable energy initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods across Nigeria.
The resolution followed the forum’s second meeting of 2026 held on Wednesday night, where governors reviewed multiple federal and development partner proposals and committed to stronger coordination between state and federal institutions.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the forum chairman and Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq emphasized that reforms must be implemented in ways that respect federalism, constitutional boundaries, and citizens’ rights.
On the issue of state policing, the governors stressed that any proposed model must be legally robust and aligned with Nigeria’s constitutional structure, noting that consultations with Attorneys-General will help refine amendment proposals and implementation frameworks.
The communique further noted that the governors’ position reflects a shared commitment to strengthening internal security architecture while ensuring that decentralised policing does not undermine national cohesion or legal safeguards.
On nutrition, the forum received updates from the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning on the National Nutrition 774 Initiative and reaffirmed its commitment to tackling child malnutrition across all states in the country.
The governors also urged faster legislative progress on the National Nutrition Bill, stating that stronger legal frameworks are required to sustain nutrition interventions and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
In addition, the forum endorsed continued collaboration with the World Bank on Nigeria’s Country Partnership Framework for FY2026–2032 as well as the AGROW programme designed to strengthen agricultural value chains and improve food security.
The AGROW initiative was described as a results-driven programme aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, boosting private sector participation, improving rural incomes, and supporting early childhood development outcomes across participating states.
The governors also received a presentation on the National Solar Super-Grid Initiative, which seeks to expand electricity access through decentralized solar generation connected to a high-capacity transmission network to improve national energy reliability.
They noted that the renewable energy plan could accelerate industrial development, strengthen energy security, and provide more affordable electricity to households and businesses across the federation if effectively implemented.
Across all agenda items, the forum emphasized the importance of integrated planning in health, education, water, sanitation, agriculture, and social protection to ensure that development programmes deliver measurable results at the subnational level.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment by governors to align state-level priorities with federal reforms and development partner programmes while ensuring that institutional changes such as state policing remain grounded in constitutional legality and public interest.
