National policing bill to reach National Assembly in a week – Gbajabiamila

Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu and chairperson of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, said the proposed framework would be presented to the National Assembly in “about a week or so,” after integrating input from state governors.

Mr Gbajabiamila disclosed this to journalists in Abuja after chairing the committee meeting at the State House on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated.

“The National Policing Bill is more or less ready for transmission to the National Assembly,” he said, adding that the committee will sit one more time to “make sure every area is covered.”

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the committee was created on 7 July after the National Assembly passed the state police bill to fulfil one of President Tinubu’s key security reforms. While the constitutional amendment changes the law to allow state police, it does not provide the practical rules on how to run them, necessitating the creation of the committee.

To kickstart its mandate, the committee launched a seven-week operational roadmap running from 27 July to 14 September. The roadmap was adopted to audit existing laws like the Police Act 2020 and write the initial draft of the new law.

During this phase, the committee opened a crucial two-week window for public consultation, inviting memoranda and policy proposals from security experts, civil society, and everyday Nigerians to ensure citizen-centred accountability. The committee subsequently received inputs from Nigerians.

While the committee engineered the bill’s operational standards in Abuja, the foundational constitutional amendment advanced concurrently across the country. To legally scale, the amendment requires ratification by 24 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly. Progress has steadily gained traction, with states like Edo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, and Zamfara formally passing the ratification bill.

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Governors’ undisclosed observations

“The governors have one or two observations,” Mr Gbajabiamila said, not giving details.

However, many Nigerians, including lawmakers and former police chiefs, have expressed worries over potential abuse of the system by governors.

Describing the bill as “the most consequential Bill of the administration,” Mr Gbajabiamila disputed rumoured pushbacks by states yet to pass the amendment bill

“I see no reason why anyone will want to have a rethink on it,” Mr Gbajabiamila was quoted as saying, noting that there was a “national consensus” among Nigerians on the matter.