The Federal Government expects to transmit the proposed National Policing Bill to the National Assembly within two weeks, as consultations with state governors continue over outstanding observations on the legislation.
Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on Policing Reform, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday after a steering committee meeting at the State House, Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said the bill was 90 per cent ready, with further consultations needed to address the governors’ observations before it is submitted to the National Assembly.
“The National Policing Bill is more or less ready for transmission to the National Assembly. We will probably have one more meeting after this to cross the t’s and dot the i’s and make sure every area is covered. So, we are 90% ready,” he said.
“The governors have one or two observations, and we should be ready in about a week or so,” he added.
The proposed legislation comes amid renewed calls for state police to address Nigeria’s security challenges and concerns over the capacity of the existing centralised policing system to tackle insecurity across the country.
The Presidential Working Group began deliberations on the bill on August 3.
Gbajabiamila also expressed confidence that state governments would support the passage of the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill, which seeks to establish state police.
However, reports indicate that only about six states had passed the constitutional amendment out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, raising questions about the pace of the process.
Gbajabiamila said there was a national consensus on the need for the proposed constitutional changes and expressed optimism that states would maintain their positions in support of the reform.
“I see no reason why anyone will want to have a rethink on it,” he said.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.
Also present was the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, who represented the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Other participants included retired Justice Abdullahi Liman, Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee; Professor Olu Ogunsakin, Head of the Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat; and Dr Lanre Smart, Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Planning and Research and Secretary of the committee, Nnadubem Moghalu, a representative of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police Abraham Nabhon Thomas, representing the National Security Adviser, also attended.
