State Police, ₦58.47tn Budget Debate Top Agenda as National Assembly Resumes

The National Assembly is set to resume sitting with debates on President Bola Tinubu’s ₦58.47tn 2026 Appropriation Bill, the establishment of state police, and proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution expected to dominate legislative proceedings.

The development comes a week after the Senate assured Nigerians that it would complete the constitutional amendment required to enable the creation of state police before the end of 2026.
Speaking with The PUNCH, the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, said the upper chamber would immediately return to work on the constitutional review once plenary reconvenes on Tuesday.
The renewed effort follows a request by President Tinubu to lawmakers to begin the process of amending the constitution to incorporate state police as part of broader measures to tackle Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
Tinubu had also urged members of the House of Representatives to ensure that the proposed constitutional amendment establishing state police includes safeguards to prevent possible abuse by state governors.
According to the President, the reform should not be “a straight free fall for everybody,” but must be structured with appropriate checks and balances, taking into account past experiences.
Reaffirming the Senate’s readiness to fast-track the amendment, Adaramodu explained that significant groundwork had already been done on the proposal before legislative attention shifted to electoral reforms.
He assured Nigerians that lawmakers would handle the amendment with urgency and complete the process before political campaigns begin ahead of the next general election.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s new Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, has described the establishment of state police as a necessary solution to the country’s security challenges.
Ibrahim disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH.
He said, “There is no way within the geographical terrain of Nigeria that the federal police can effectively police all the forests in this country.
“So, the issue of state police is important. If you don’t have it, the alternative is a state of insecurity. That is exactly what will happen.
“What the National Assembly should do now is conduct cross-fertilisation studies. They should examine countries where state police systems are legislated and operational, study them, and then return to make informed laws.
“Participants and stakeholders at the state level must also be involved. For instance, the constitution could create a role for traditional rulers within the state policing system, because every criminal resides in a particular village or town.
“As someone who has studied extensively and obtained a PhD in modern war studies, I can say that legislation for state police is important. It is a panacea for national development, and not having it would only worsen insecurity.”
The debate over decentralised policing gained further momentum last week when the newly sworn-in Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, inaugurated a committee to examine the feasibility of establishing state police.
Disu said the committee would review existing policing models within and outside Nigeria, assess community security needs, and propose an operational framework for state police structures.
He explained that the panel would also address issues relating to recruitment, training, funding, accountability, and oversight.
According to him, decentralised policing could enhance grassroots security and enable quicker responses to emerging threats across states.
However, the spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, clarified that the creation of state police can only be achieved through a constitutional amendment.
Rotimi noted that the decision by the police leadership to establish an implementation committee does not override the constitutional process required to introduce such reforms.
He said, “With respect to reports that the Inspector-General of Police has set up an implementation committee, it is important to clarify that the establishment of state police requires constitutional alteration.”
The Ekiti lawmaker added that the issue remains one of the major matters currently under consideration in the ongoing constitutional review by the National Assembly.
His comments come amid increasing calls for decentralised policing as Nigeria continues to grapple with persistent security challenges, including banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and communal clashes in several parts of the country.
Earlier, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele also assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would accelerate work on the constitutional amendment and conclude the process within the first quarter of 2026.
Bamidele made this known in a statement issued in Abuja, explaining that committees in both chambers had already commenced detailed scrutiny of the revenue and expenditure estimates presented by President Tinubu to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2025.
Regarding the constitutional amendment process, the Senate Leader revealed that technical sessions and public hearings had already been concluded, and the report of the exercise would soon be presented to the Senate.
He stated that the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who chairs the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, would lay the report before lawmakers before the end of the first quarter.
“The review of the 1999 Constitution is also at its peak. Before the first quarter ends, the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Barau Jibrin, will present the report of the exercise to the Senate,” Bamidele said.
He added that the final stage of the process would require approval from at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, highlighting the critical role of sub-national legislatures in constitutional amendments.
Reflecting on the tenure of the 10th National Assembly, Bamidele noted that only 16 months remain out of its constitutionally mandated 48-month lifespan, assuring that lawmakers would intensify reforms aimed at strengthening governance, electoral processes, and economic diversification.