President Bola Tinubu and his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila
President Bola Tinubu is expected to receive the draft National Policing Bill on September 3 as part of efforts to establish a constitutional framework for state police in Nigeria.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Monday after a meeting of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill at the State House.
“The resulting executive bill package is scheduled for presentation to the President on the third of September,” Gbajabiamila said, adding that a national consultation will now take place before the President gives final approval and the bill is forwarded to the National Assembly.
He explained that the seven-week programme, running from July 27 to September 14, 2026, will produce not only the bill but also supporting legal, financial and implementation documents to guide the reform.
Gbajabiamila described the initiative as a major reform aimed at creating a policing system that is more responsive to local communities while protecting national standards and constitutional safeguards.
He noted that although both chambers of the National Assembly have approved the state police proposal, it will only take effect after it is endorsed by state Houses of Assembly and the necessary implementing laws are enacted.
According to him, the proposed National Policing Bill will provide rules on recruitment, training, funding, command structure, oversight, pensions, firearms control and cooperation between federal and state police services.
“State police cannot mean 36 state militias,” Gbajabiamila said, stressing that “no political officeholder should be able to direct the arrest of an opponent, the suppression of lawful political activity or the selective enforcement of the law.”
He acknowledged public concerns over political interference, poor funding and unequal state capacity, saying “those concerns are legitimate” and insisting that strong safeguards are necessary to make state policing credible and sustainable.
Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians at home and abroad to submit memoranda and proposals, saying President Tinubu is committed to delivering a workable dual policing system that strengthens security while protecting the rights of all citizens.
