Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, says the National Policing Bill is 90% ready for transmission to the National Assembly, with the Presidential Working Group targeting submission within two weeks.
The Presidential Working Group on police reform says the National Policing Bill is 90 per cent ready for transmission to the National Assembly, with the committee expecting to submit the proposed legislation within two weeks.
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and chairman of the working group, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists after a steering committee meeting at the State House in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said the committee might hold one more meeting to address outstanding issues and incorporate observations from state governors before transmitting the bill 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% ready,” he said.
“The governors have one or two observations, and we should be ready in about a week or so,” he added.
The presidential aide described the proposed legislation as “the most consequential Bill of the administration so far”, noting that the working group’s steering committee had undertaken extensive deliberations since commencing its work on August 3.
The proposed bill forms part of broader efforts to reform Nigeria’s policing framework and address concerns surrounding security, police administration and the country’s approach to law enforcement.
Gbajabiamila also addressed concerns over the pace of approval of the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police services.
At the time of the meeting, reports indicated that only a handful of state Houses of Assembly had approved the proposed constitutional amendment, despite its transmission to all 36 states for consideration.
He expressed confidence that the reform enjoyed broad national support, saying he saw no reason for states to reconsider their position on the proposal.
“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; Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice was represented by the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba.
Other participants included the Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee, retired Justice Abdullahi Liman; Head of the Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat, Professor Olu Ogunsakin; Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Dr Lanre Smart; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research and committee secretary, Nnadubem Moghalu.
Representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Office of the National Security Adviser, including Assistant Inspector-General of Police Abraham Nabhon Thomas, also attended the meeting.
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