Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal Government has moved to allay fears that the ongoing work on the National Policing Bill is being rushed, with a senior presidential aide insisting that the reform is deliberate, transparent, and designed to ensure that Nigerians play a central role in shaping the legislation before it is transmitted to the National Assembly. Nnadubem Moghalu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research and Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, made the clarification on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, during an interview with ARISE NEWS, where he dismissed concerns that the government was hurrying the process without adequate public participation.
Moghalu drew a sharp distinction between the constitutional amendment that creates the legal pathway for state police and the National Policing Bill, which will provide the operational framework for implementing the new policing system across the country. He explained that the constitutional amendment, which has already been passed by the National Assembly and is now before state Houses of Assembly for concurrence, merely opens the door to state police but does not operationalise it. "If you look at the draft of the bill on the nationalpolicingbill.com website, you will see that what the constitutional amendment does is to say we can have state police services, but only subject to a minimum standards framework law to be enacted by the National Assembly," Moghalu said. The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has been constituted to work on the second part of the state policing project, which is the National Policing Bill that enables the operationalisation of state police.
Responding to allegations that the government was rushing the reforms, Moghalu argued that major policy changes are rarely free from criticism and that there is never a perfect time to undertake difficult reforms. He noted that three years into the Tinubu administration, there is still debate about the timing of the fuel subsidy removal, and similar conversations would always accompany major policy shifts. "What matters is whether the government is prepared, committed and whether there is political will and political consensus that makes those reforms possible," he said. He emphasised that President Bola Tinubu cannot accomplish the project alone, as the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly have important roles to play. "After we produce the National Policing Bill and consequential amendments, there will be consultations before the bill is transmitted to the National Assembly to undergo the full legislative process," he said. "I don't subscribe to the idea that anything is being rushed. When something is rushed, it presumes things are being done carelessly. That is not the case here. This is a deliberate process articulated by government, and we want to carry Nigerians along."
To broaden participation, the government has opened a national call for memoranda on the proposed legislation, with 17 thematic areas identified for public input. These include national minimum policing standards, state readiness and certification, federal and state policing architecture, jurisdiction, inspection and compliance, Police Service Commission architecture, and the establishment of state police services. Moghalu said the process would also involve a 26-member Policy Advisory Committee comprising Nigerians drawn from the judiciary, academia, police and security agencies, as well as state Attorneys-General, chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Muhammad Abba Leman. The committee would review the drafts produced by the working group before the final document is submitted to the President.
The Presidential Working Group has adopted a seven-week work programme running from July 27 to September 14, 2026, with the draft Executive Bill scheduled for presentation to President Tinubu on September 3, 2026. Moghalu disclosed that advertisements inviting submissions were already running in newspapers and on television, while community engagement teams would take awareness campaigns to the grassroots. After the draft bill is prepared, it would be published for another round of national consultations to enable Nigerians review the proposals before they are transmitted to the National Assembly. He stressed that policing reforms affect every Nigerian and therefore require public participation. "There are very few areas of public policy that are more important or more consequential than policing," he said. "If you are a Nigerian living in Nigeria today, it doesn't matter whether you are wealthy, it doesn't matter whether you are poor, it doesn't matter whether you are educated or uneducated. At some point in your life, you will interact with the police."
On concerns that the framework law could amount to federal control over state police, Moghalu said the objective was to establish national minimum standards rather than dictate to states. "If you don't have national minimum standards, the quality of policing Nigerians receive will depend entirely on where they live. That is not in anybody's interest," he said. He maintained that matters such as recruitment standards, training, firearms regulation and jurisdiction require national coordination to ensure professionalism and consistency across the country. While declining to comment on criticisms of the National Assembly's handling of the constitutional amendment, Moghalu urged Nigerians to study the proposals and participate in the ongoing consultation process. "We have made a deliberate effort to make this an open and transparent process. This is a complex national issue, but it is not beyond our capacity as Nigerians to resolve," he said.
The federal government's push for state police has been a cornerstone of President Tinubu's security agenda, following the passage of a constitutional amendment by the National Assembly that now awaits ratification by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly. Critics have raised concerns about potential abuse by state governors, but the government has insisted that the framework being developed, including the National Policing Bill, would address such concerns through robust oversight, national minimum standards, and independent accountability mechanisms. As the consultation process unfolds, Nigerians from all walks of life have been invited to contribute to shaping what could become one of the most significant reforms of the country's security architecture in decades.
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