​The Federal Government is set to transmit the National Policing Bill to the National Assembly within two weeks, as the draft legislation is now 90 per cent ready.
​The Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, made the disclosure on Thursday, October 15, 2026, while briefing State House correspondents following a high-level steering committee meeting of the Presidential Working Group on Police Reform held at the Council Chamber, State House, Abuja.
​Gbajabiamila, who chairs the working group, stated that the committee had engaged in strenuous exercises since its initial deliberations commenced on August 3. He noted that the body requires one final session to address observations submitted by state governors before completing the legal framework.
​”The National Policing Bill is more or less ready for transmission to the National Assembly,” Gbajabiamila said. “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. The governors have one or two observations, and we should be ready in about a week or so.”
​He characterised the proposed legislation as “the most consequential bill of the administration so far,” highlighting its role in overhauling Nigeria’s domestic security architecture alongside the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill.
​Addressing questions on the pace of constitutional ratification, amid reports that only six state houses of assembly have passed the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill enabling state police, Gbajabiamila dismissed concerns over potential delays, citing a broad national consensus.
​”I see no reason why anyone will want to have a rethink on it,” he assured reporters, emphasizing that federal authorities and sub-national leadership remain aligned on decentralised policing solutions.
​A statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, detailed the key stakeholders in attendance at Thursday’s meeting:
Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Chief of Staff to the President); Justice Abdullahi Liman (retd.), Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee; Prof. Olu Ogunsakin, Head of the Police Reform Secretariat; Nnadubem Moghalu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research (Committee Secretary); and Dr. Lanre Smart, Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House).
Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara State / Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum), Gov. Dapo Abiodun (Ogun State), and Gov. Uba Sani (Kaduna State).
Tunji Disu, Inspector-General of Police (IGP); Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Abraham Nabhon Thomas, representing the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA); Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice (representing the Attorney-General of the Federation); and representatives from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
​The Federal Government expects to formally lay the finalized executive bill before both chambers of the National Assembly before the end of October 2026.
