National Policing Bill To Reach National Assembly In 2 Weeks

The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill will transmit the proposed legislation to the National Assembly within two weeks, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said.

Gbajabiamila, who chairs the working group, disclosed this on Thursday while speaking to journalists after a steering committee meeting at the State House in Abuja.

He said the bill was about 90 per cent ready, adding that the committee would hold another meeting to address outstanding issues before transmitting it to the National Assembly.

“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 per cent ready,” he said.

“The governors have one or two observations, and we should be ready in about a week or so,” he added.

Gbajabiamila described the proposed legislation as “the most consequential Bill of the administration so far.”

According to him, the bill has undergone extensive deliberations in recent weeks following the commencement of the working group’s steering committee meetings on August 3.

He expressed confidence that the outstanding issues would be resolved to pave the way for its transmission to the National Assembly.

On concerns that some states might delay the passage of the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill on state police, Gbajabiamila said there was a national consensus on the need for the constitutional amendments.

He was responding to reports that only about six states out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory had passed the amendment.

“I see no reason why anyone will want to have a rethink on it,” he said.

The proposed constitutional amendment is part of the process towards establishing state police, an issue that has featured prominently in discussions on police reform and Nigeria’s security challenges.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State; Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.

Also present was the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, who represented the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

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 Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Dr 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.

The planned transmission of the National Policing Bill comes amid ongoing efforts to advance police reforms and the proposed constitutional changes to allow states to establish their own police forces.