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Thirty State Houses of Assembly have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to allow state police, exceeding the 24-state threshold required for concurrence in Nigeria’s constitutional amendment process. Lagos, Niger, Kogi and Ebonyi were among the latest assemblies to approve the proposal, bringing the reported total to 30.
The endorsements move the reform closer to completion, with the collation of state resolutions and transmission of the constitutional alteration bill by the National Assembly to President Bola Tinubu for assent still outstanding. The growing support for decentralised policing comes alongside concerns about states’ ability to finance their police services, protect operational independence and prevent political interference.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio also defended the initiative as more state legislatures endorsed the amendment. Meanwhile, the Presidency has asked the organised private sector to develop a financing and implementation blueprint for the proposed system.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, made the request during a plenary session on “Security, Stability and Economic Resilience” at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja. Gbajabiamila said insecurity was discouraging investment, disrupting supply chains, delaying factory expansions and reducing employment opportunities.
He argued that businesses had reasons to support stronger public security institutions because the consequences of insecurity extended beyond expenditure on private guards and protection for business premises. “A company can reinforce its perimeter. Its workers still have to travel home, and its suppliers still have to move through the surrounding communities. Your long-term security depends on the strength of public institutions beyond your gates,” he said.
Gbajabiamila urged the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, chambers of commerce and business associations to develop practical proposals covering financing, institutional management and accountable partnerships. He said Tinubu’s commitment to establishing state police offered businesses an opportunity to contribute to institutions capable of protecting investments and strengthening economic resilience.
“I therefore ask the NESG to carry this engagement beyond our meeting. Bring forward a considered private sector contribution on financing and implementing state police, with practical proposals for accountable partnerships. Take that work into the legislative process and into your engagement with state governments,” he said.
The chief of staff asked business leaders to engage governors and lawmakers, contribute expertise in expenditure control and risk assessment, and identify security failures preventing viable investments. However, he cautioned that private sector participation must not undermine police independence.
He said contributions towards communications infrastructure, equipment maintenance and financial planning should be transparent and open to independent scrutiny. “Where businesses provide resources, those contributions need published accounts and independent scrutiny. Public funding must remain dependable, and a donation must never purchase influence over an investigation or preferential treatment,” he said.
Gbajabiamila stressed that states intending to establish police services must demonstrate sustainable financial capacity beyond buying vehicles, uniforms and equipment. He said they must also be able to meet recurring costs, including salaries, professional training and operational maintenance. Failure to fulfil those obligations, he warned, could leave police institutions vulnerable to private influence and unlawful demands on citizens.
He assured participants that federal policing would remain available in states that were not financially or institutionally prepared to establish their own services. Providing an update on the reform, Gbajabiamila said 24 State Houses of Assembly had approved the constitutional amendment as of October 23, meeting the required two-thirds threshold. Six more states have since joined them, according to the latest tally.
He also said the Presidential Working Group submitted the draft National Policing Bill and 29 consequential amendment bills to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 19 for legislative review. Those proposals would undergo review and final consideration before being presented to Tinubu for approval and subsequent transmission to the National Assembly.
Addressing fears that governors could use state police against political opponents, Gbajabiamila said the proposed legislation would provide enforceable safeguards, national professional standards, independent oversight and remedies for misconduct. “A citizen’s entitlement to protection cannot depend on whom he supports or where she comes from,” he said.
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