The Presidential Working Group on State Police says the National Policing Bill is 90 per cent ready for transmission to the National Assembly within the next two weeks.
The Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Working Group, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday 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.
He described the proposed legislation as the most consequential bill of the President Bola Tinubu administration so far, noting that it had undergone extensive deliberations since the committee began its work on August 3.
On the progress of the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill, which seeks to establish state police, Gbajabiamila expressed confidence that state governments would support the amendment.
He said there was a national consensus on the need for state police, adding that he saw no reason for any state to reconsider its position on the proposed reform.
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.
Other participants included representatives of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat, the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian Bar Association, among other members of the working group.
