Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has declared that the establishment of state police has moved from rhetoric to reality, following the approval of the Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026 by at least 30 state Houses of Assembly.
Bamidele, who is Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the constitutional requirement for the proposed reform had been met, paving the way for the National Assembly to complete the remaining legislative processes by December 2026.
He spoke on Thursday while delivering a lecture titled “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking” to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.
“We are pleased to inform our constituents across the federation that state police have moved from rhetoric to reality,” he said, explaining that the National Assembly would collate reports from the state assemblies, pass a resolution by a simple majority in both chambers and transmit the bill to the President for assent.
Bamidele described the development as a historic milestone after more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to establish state police, saying the reform would enable Nigeria to build a policing system responsive to local realities, languages and security challenges.
He stressed that it was not intended to weaken the Federal Government or create state armies, but to strengthen the federation through community-based policing with constitutional safeguards and human rights protections.
The Senate Leader also said the 10th National Assembly should be judged by the impact of its legislative interventions rather than the number of bills passed.
He cited the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024, the four Tax Reform Acts of 2025, the National Social Investment Programme Act and the Electoral Act, 2026, among other legislation, as examples of strategic, people-centred lawmaking.
“Good governance requires good laws. But good laws alone do not guarantee good governance,” Bamidele said, stressing that legislation must be evidence-based, implementable, adequately funded, properly administered and effectively monitored, with its success ultimately measured by its impact on citizens.
He called for stronger collaboration between NIPSS and the National Assembly to improve legislative foresight, anticipate emerging challenges and strengthen governance across security, economic development, education, healthcare and public financial management.
Bamidele reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to completing the state police reform, declaring that it would not relent until Nigerians could live in greater safety and security.
