The Presidential Working Group on police reform has said the National Policing Bill will be transmitted to the National Assembly within two weeks, as the Federal Government moves to advance its proposed policing reforms.
Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and chairman of the working group, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday, October 15, 2026, while briefing journalists after a steering committee meeting at the State House, Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said the bill was about 90 per cent ready, with further consultations expected to address outstanding observations from state governors before its transmission to the legislature.
“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 percent ready,” he said.
He added that the committee expected to conclude the remaining work within about a week, noting that the governors had raised one or two observations.
Describing the proposed legislation as “the most consequential Bill of the administration so far,” Gbajabiamila said the working group’s steering committee had undertaken extensive deliberations since it commenced work on August 3.
He also expressed confidence that the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police would receive the necessary support, despite concerns over the pace of ratification by state legislatures.
Reacting to reports that only about six states had passed the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill on state police out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Gbajabiamila said there was a national consensus on the need for the amendment.
“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; and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.
Also present were the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice’s representative, Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba.
Other participants included the chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee, Justice Abdullahi Liman (retd.); head of the Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat, Professor Olu Ogunsakin; and the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Lanre Smart.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research and secretary of the committee, Nnadubem Moghalu, a representative of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police Abraham Nabhon Thomas, representing the National Security Adviser, also attended the meeting.
