State Police: NASS Targets December Deadline – Bamidele

Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has disclosed that at least 30 state Houses of Assembly have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026, with the National Assembly targeting December 2026 to complete the remaining legislative processes and transmit the bill to the President for assent.

Bamidele, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, described the development as a historic milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to restructure its security architecture and establish a more responsive policing system.

He, however, maintained that the performance of the 10th National Assembly should be measured by the impact of its legislative initiatives and interventions on Nigerians rather than the number of bills passed into law.

The Senate Leader spoke on Thursday while delivering a lecture titled “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking” to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.

The lecture examined the role of proactive lawmaking in improving governance, strengthening public institutions and addressing the country’s development challenges.

Bamidele said the approval of the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill by at least 30 state assemblies had satisfied the constitutional threshold required for the proposed amendment, paving the way for the National Assembly to complete the remaining stages.

“We are pleased to inform our constituents across the federation that state police have moved from rhetoric to reality. We have already received formal reports from the State Houses of Assembly and, as of today, no fewer than 30 states have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026,” he said.

According to him, Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, requires the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all state Houses of Assembly for a constitutional alteration.

He described the development as a significant step towards making Nigeria’s security architecture more responsive to local needs.

“This is a historic milestone in our collective quest to re-engineer our security architecture and make it more responsive, more local, and more effective,” he said.

The Senate Leader explained that the National Assembly was expected to consider and collate the reports transmitted by the state assemblies before passing a resolution by a simple majority in both chambers.

He said the bill would subsequently be transmitted to the President and Commander-in-Chief for assent after the required legislative processes had been completed.

“What happens next is procedural, but critical. The National Assembly is now constitutionally obligated to consider the reports transmitted by the State Houses of Assembly, collate those reports, and pass a resolution by simple majority of members in both chambers.

“Once this resolution is passed, the Alteration Bill will be transmitted to the President and Commander-in-Chief for assent,” Bamidele said.

He disclosed that the National Assembly had set a December 2026 deadline for completing the remaining legislative stages.

“We have set a clear timeline for ourselves. We intend to conclude all these legislative stages — consideration of reports, passage of resolution, and transmission for presidential assent — on or before December 2026,” he added.

Bamidele said the proposed reform would address longstanding calls for a decentralised policing system capable of responding more effectively to security challenges across the country.

“What this means is that state police is no longer a campaign promise or a subject of endless debate. It is now a constitutional reality. It means that the security of lives, private property and public assets occupies a prime place in the legislative agenda of the 10th National Assembly,” he said.

He explained that state police would enable Nigeria to develop a policing system that understands local terrain, speaks local languages, respects community realities and remains accountable to local populations.

The Senate Leader stressed that the reform was not intended to weaken the Federal Government but to strengthen Nigeria’s federal structure.

According to him, the proposal is not about creating state armies but establishing state-led, community-based policing systems operating within clearly defined constitutional safeguards, operational standards, oversight mechanisms and human rights protections.

Bamidele said the National Assembly, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, remained committed to completing the process.

He added that the legislature would sustain its efforts towards improving security across the country.

“We will not falter until every Nigerian, whether in Kuru, in Iyin-Ekiti, in Gusau or in Yenagoa, can sleep with both eyes closed,” he said.

On the performance of the 10th National Assembly, Bamidele said the legislature had deliberately pursued strategic, people-centred legislation aimed at improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public institutions.

He argued that the effectiveness of the National Assembly should not be determined solely by the volume of bills passed but by the extent to which its legislative interventions improve the lives of Nigerians.

According to him, the current Assembly has passed several laws intended to address critical issues affecting education, workers’ welfare, taxation, social protection and economic development.

He listed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024; the four Tax Reform Acts of 2025; and the National Social Investment Programme Act among the legislation pursued by the Assembly.

Others, he said, included the Electoral Act, 2026, the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024, and the Regional Development Commissions Acts.

He added that the ongoing constitutional alteration process for state police formed part of the legislature’s efforts to address emerging national challenges.

Bamidele described the legislative interventions as products of proactive lawmaking, which he said could help move Nigeria towards a more efficient, accountable and development-oriented governance system.

“Proactive lawmaking offers Nigeria a pathway to more effective, efficient, accountable and development-oriented governance,” he said.

He explained that by anticipating emerging challenges, addressing structural weaknesses, strengthening public institutions and establishing legal frameworks for innovation and reform, the legislature could shift governance from a reactive approach to a more strategic and preventive model.

Bamidele noted that the impact of proactive lawmaking extended to national security, economic transformation, public financial management, electoral credibility, education, healthcare, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and intergovernmental relations.

He stressed that legislation should be designed to address emerging problems before they escalate into major national challenges.

The Senate Leader also called for stronger institutional collaboration between NIPSS and the National Assembly to improve legislative foresight, research and evidence-based policymaking.

He described NIPSS as strategically positioned to contribute to national development because of its ability to bring together experienced Nigerians from the public sector, military, private sector, academia and other strategic institutions.

“NIPSS has a special role to play in this transformation. The Institute has demonstrated capacity to bring together experienced Nigerians from the public sector, military, private sector, academia and other strategic institutions,” he said.

He noted that the institute’s Senior Executive Course covered policy, strategy, leadership, economics, international relations, security, science and technology, as well as peace and conflict studies.

According to him, the multidisciplinary nature of the programme makes NIPSS an important partner in strengthening legislative foresight and developing policy responses to Nigeria’s governance challenges.

“I would, therefore, encourage stronger institutional collaboration between NIPSS and the National Assembly,” he said.

Bamidele further emphasised that the passage of good laws alone could not guarantee good governance, arguing that effective implementation and regular evaluation were equally important.

“Good governance requires good laws. But good laws alone do not guarantee good governance,” he said.

He explained that laws must be relevant, evidence-based, implementable, adequately funded, properly administered, effectively monitored and periodically reviewed.

The Senate Leader maintained that the ultimate value of legislation should be measured by its impact on citizens.