The Federal Government has disclosed that the Executive Bill seeking to establish a legal framework for state policing in Nigeria will be presented to President Bola Tinubu on September 3, 2026, marking a significant step in ongoing efforts to reform the country’s security architecture.
The announcement was made on Monday by the Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, following the inaugural meeting of the committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Gbajabiamila explained that the committee, inaugurated by President Tinubu in July, had adopted a seven-week work plan designed to produce a comprehensive legal framework for the implementation of state police across the federation.
According to him, the proposed Executive Bill will first be presented to the President for approval before being subjected to a broad national consultation process involving stakeholders from different sectors of society.
He said the consultation would enable Nigerians to examine the proposed provisions, including funding arrangements, operational safeguards, accountability mechanisms and transition plans for the proposed policing structure.
“The approved work programme is a seven-week, milestone-driven exercise running from July 27 to September 14, 2026. The resulting Executive Bill package is scheduled for presentation to the President on September 3,” Gbajabiamila stated.
He noted that following presidential approval, the draft legislation and supporting documents would be reviewed based on public input before formal transmission to the National Assembly for legislative consideration.
The committee also invited members of the public, civil society groups, professional bodies, security experts and other stakeholders to submit memoranda and position papers that could enrich the proposed legislation.
The renewed push for state policing comes amid growing concerns over insecurity in several parts of the country, with advocates arguing that decentralised policing would improve intelligence gathering, response time and community engagement.
Successive administrations had considered proposals for state police, but concerns over funding, political interference and abuse by state governments slowed implementation efforts.
With consultations set to commence in the coming weeks, the Tinubu administration says the proposed legislation is aimed at creating a policing system capable of responding more effectively to Nigeria’s evolving security challenges.
