HOUSE OF REPS. DECLARES SUPPORT FOR EXECUTIVE VERSION OF STATE POLICE BILL

The House of Representatives members during plenary on Tuesday declared support for the Executive backed- version of the proposed constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police in the country.

The House passed the Executive-sponsored bill on State police through its first and second readings during plenary and subsequently referred it to the House Committee on Constitutional Review for further legislative work.

The development effectively puts the House’s earlier proposal on hold while attention shifts to the Executive-backed version of the amendment.

With the Executive bill now advancing in the House, lawmakers are expected to examine key provisions of the proposal during the committee stage.

However, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to prepare the legal framework for implementing state police across the country.

The President who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated the panel at the Presidential Villa, Abuja last week Tuesday.

The inauguration followed the Senate’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, proposing a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.

The President said while the constitutional amendment creates the framework for state police, the National Policing Bill would provide the legal structure for its implementation.