The National Policing Bill is about 90 per cent ready for transmission to the National Assembly, with the Federal Government expecting to forward the proposed legislation within two weeks. Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday after a steering committee meeting at the State House in Abuja. He said the committee was close to completing its work, with further discussions expected to address the remaining details before the bill is transmitted to lawmakers for consideration.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Gbajabiamila explained that the committee might hold one more meeting to review the outstanding issues and ensure that all relevant areas had been covered. “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. He added that state governors had raised one or two observations, which the committee expected to address before completing the process.
Gbajabiamila described the proposed legislation as “the most consequential Bill of the administration so far”, highlighting its significance within the government’s reform agenda. He said the bill had undergone strenuous exercises over the preceding weeks, following the commencement of deliberations by the working group’s steering committee on August 3. The committee’s discussions have focused on reviewing the proposed legislation and addressing the issues required to prepare it for transmission to the National Assembly.
The Chief of Staff also addressed concerns about the pace at which state governments were considering the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill on State Police. His comments followed information that only about six states, out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, had passed the constitutional amendment. Gbajabiamila maintained that there was broad agreement across the country on the need for the amendments and expressed confidence that the process would continue. “I see no reason why anyone will want to have a rethink on it,” he said, referring to the reported national consensus on the proposed changes.
The steering committee meeting was attended by several government officials and representatives involved in discussions on policing reforms. Participants included the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun; Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani; and Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu. The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice was represented by the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba.
Other members of the committee included the Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee, Justice Abdullahi Liman (rtd); Head of the Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat, Professor Olu Ogunsakin; and Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Dr Lanre Smart. Also present were Nnadubem Moghalu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research and Secretary of the Committee; a representative of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association; and AIG Abraham Nabhon Thomas, representing the National Security Adviser. The statement was issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on October 15, 2026.
