Council of State approves NPC chairman, okays 1% FAAC deduction for Police Trust Fund
.…clemency for 175 prisoners
…800 persons for 2024/2025 national honours award
The National Council of State on Thursday, approved the appointment of Aminu Yusuf as chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC).
The Council also approved 1% deductions from the federation account for the Police Trust Fund and clemency for 175 prisoners, under the Prerogative of Mercy.
The presidential prerogative of mercy, enshrined in Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, or commute sentences.
It is typically exercised after careful consideration of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, which assesses factors such as age, ill health, good behaviour, or cases of miscarriage of justice.
Thursday’s endorsement by the Council of State, comprising former Heads of State, state governors, and other statutory members, is expected to pave the way for the formal release or re-sentencing of the affected inmates in the coming weeks.
The Council at their meeting, took key decisions on national appointments, approving Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Aminu Yusuf as Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), following recommendations by President Tinubu.
Out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were granted presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
The approvals were given by the National Council of State and the Police Council at their meetings held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
Governors Hope Uzodimma, chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC) Governors Forum and Uba Sani of Kaduna State disclosed these while briefing State House Journalists, after the meetings.
Uzodinma described Amupitan’s nomination as a constitutional responsibility diligently discharged by the President.
He said the appointment received unanimous endorsement, with speakers hailing the nominee as “a serious-minded scholar, a man of integrity, tested and trusted, who has never participated in partisan politics.”
The Council also ratified the appointment of Tonga Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State at the NPC.
The meeting was attended by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar, state governors, and other statutory members of the Council.
BusinessDay gathered that the current 0.5% deductions from the federation account became inadequate to fund the Police Trust Fund (PTF), thus, the President appealed to the Council to approve 1% of the Federation Account for the PTF.
Read also: Council of State approves nomination of Amupitan as INEC Chairman
The National Council of State attended by former Presidents Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar virtually, as well as Governors, also approved the national honours conferred on about 800 persons by President Bola Tinubu, in exercise of his powers under the Prerogative of Mercy.
It was gathered that about 5000 persons were screened for the 2024/2025 national honours awards, out of which only 800 were approved.
Under the Prerogative of Mercy, clemency for 175 prisoner were unanimously approved based on the recommendation of Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The Council approved the repeal and reenactment of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund (NPTF) Establishment Act, 2019, to ensure sustainable funding and long-term planning for police operations across the country.
Ibrahim Gaidam, minister of police affairs, explained that the Fund, created in 2019 with a renewable lifespan of six years, was designed to provide dedicated financial resources for training, retraining, logistics, equipment, infrastructure, and modernisation of the Nigeria Police Force.
The Nigeria Police Trust Fund was established by the federal government in 2019 to support the training and re-training of police personnel.
The fund also provide financial resources to enhance police equipment, logistics, and infrastructure, support modernisation of the Police through investments in technology, vehicles, communications, and crime-fighting tools and improve welfare and morale of Police personnel.
The body also promotes accountability, transparency, and governance, enhance crime prevention and public safety, strengthen capacity for emergency response and disaster management
The organisation which also foster public-spirited philanthropy and private sector engagement, channel contributions from individuals, corporations, and civil society into Police enhancement programmes.
The organisation is however often financially handicap in its efforts to sustain operations during budgetary constraints.
He revealed that the sunset clause of six years in the current Act limits the lifespan of the NPTF and impedes long-time planning thereby constraining sustainable Police Reform.
To address this, the Council approved the removal of the sunset clause, effectively transitioning the Trust Fund into a permanent agency.
“The deduction of 0.5% from the Federation Account needs upward to 1% of the Federation Account.
“Council is hereby requested to approve the repeal and re-enactment of the NPTF Establishment Act 2025 in order to remove the sunset clause and transition it to an Agency; approve 1% deduction from the Federation Account; and direct the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice to input all the approvals of the Council in the proposed Executive Bill.”
