Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, says 30 state Houses of Assembly have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026, paving the way for the proposed establishment of state police in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that Bamidele disclosed this on Thursday while delivering a lecture titled, “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking”, to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.
He said the National Assembly planned to complete the remaining legislative processes and transmit the bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent on or before December 2026.
Describing the development as a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to reform its security architecture, Bamidele said the constitutional requirement for the proposed amendment had been met.
“We are pleased to inform our constituents across the federation that state police have moved from rhetoric to reality,” he said.
“We have already received formal reports from the state houses of assembly and, as of today, no fewer than 30 states have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.”
The Senate Leader, who also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, explained that Section 9(2) of the Constitution requires approval from at least two-thirds of state Houses of Assembly for constitutional alterations.
He said the next stage would involve the National Assembly collating the reports from the state assemblies and passing a resolution by a simple majority in both chambers.
“Once this resolution is passed, the Alteration Bill will be transmitted to the President and Commander-in-Chief for assent,” he said.
Bamidele described the proposed state police system as an opportunity to establish a security structure that understands local communities, speaks their languages and responds more effectively to their security needs.
He maintained that the reform was not designed to weaken the Federal Government but to strengthen the country’s federal structure through community-based policing.
“It is not about creating state armies, but about creating state-led, community-anchored policing within clear constitutional safeguards, operational standards, oversight mechanisms and human rights protections,” he said.
The Senate Leader added that the 10th National Assembly, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, remained committed to delivering the reform, which he said had featured prominently in legislative discussions for more than 15 years.
Bamidele also highlighted other legislation passed by the current National Assembly, including the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024; the four tax reform acts of 2025; and the National Social Investment Programme Act.
Others include the Electoral Act, 2026, the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024, and the Regional Development Commissions Acts.
He stressed that legislative performance should be measured by the impact of laws and interventions on citizens rather than the number of bills passed.
According to him, proactive lawmaking could help strengthen national security, economic transformation, public financial management, electoral credibility, education and healthcare.
