•Working group opens portal for public input • ‘It is Tinubu’s most consequential reforms’

The process leading to the creation of state police has been fast-tracked.

A seven-week roadmap for the National Policing Bill commenced on July 27 and is expected to be completed on September 14.

Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, unveiled the action plan yesterday after the group’s meeting.

He said the seven-week work programme would proceed through simultaneous legal drafting, policy research, data analysis and implementation modelling.

Gbajabiamila added that the final submission would include schedules, an explanatory memorandum, a legal audit, a consequential amendments matrix, clause-by-clause analysis, a state readiness framework, fiscal and implementation notes, a validation report, a risk register and a digital archive.

The Chief of Staff reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to decentralised policing that would not undermine national unity or the rule of law.

He said: “State police cannot mean 36 state militias,” adding that while states must have a legitimate role in public safety, “no political office holder should be able to direct the arrest of an opponent, the suppression of lawful political activity, or the selective enforcement of the law.”

Gbajabiamila explained that federal intervention would remain “exceptional, evidence-based, proportionate, time-limited and reviewable”, while officers would remain accountable to the Constitution rather than political interests.

He said no state would be permitted to commence policing operations until it demonstrated readiness in recruitment, training, equipment, pensions, complaints handling, financial sustainability, firearms control and independent oversight.

Gbajabiamila added: “Operational commencement must be based on readiness, not announcement. Although states could exceed national benchmarks, no Nigerian should receive a lower standard of protection because of where they reside.”

To encourage public participation, the Chief of Staff called for memoranda and position papers from Nigerians, civil society organisations, professional bodies, security institutions and other stakeholders.

He said a dedicated portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, had gone live to receive submissions, with plans to migrate it to a government domain.

On the financial implications of the reform, Gbajabiamila said it was premature to estimate the cost, noting that expenditure would be determined through empirical research conducted on a state-by-state basis.

He dismissed fears that some states might lack the capacity to establish police services.

However, Gbajabiamila explained that where a state is genuinely unable to meet the prescribed standards, the Nigeria Police Force would continue to provide policing services until the state becomes operational.

Gbajabiamila said the committee is expected to submit an Executive Bill to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3.

He said the package would go beyond draft legislation, adding that it would also provide the implementation blueprint required to operationalise a dual federal-state policing architecture once the constitutional amendment creating state police comes into force.

Hailing the initiative, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun described the National Policing Bill as one of President Tinubu’s most consequential reforms.

Also assuring Nigerians of the prospects of the initiative, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the enforcement of national standards would prevent abuse of state police and protect citizens.

Explaining further, Gbajabiamila said that following the completion of the draft, nationwide consultations would be held before the President grants final approval, after which the executive bill would be transmitted to the National Assembly.

He said: “The resulting draft executive bill package is scheduled for presentation to the President on the 3rd of September.

“We have tweaked the process so that the national consultation will come before the President’s final approval, after which the text and supporting materials will be revised and prepared for formal transmission to the National Assembly.”

He stressed that despite the progress made by the National Assembly, no state police service currently exists in Nigeria because the constitutional amendment has not yet secured the approval of the required number of state Houses of Assembly.

He said that while the constitutional amendment would create the legal authority for state policing, it would not by itself resolve critical operational issues such as recruitment, training, funding, command structures, jurisdiction, pensions, firearms regulation, data management, complaints mechanisms and inter-agency cooperation.

Gbajabiamila explained that those issues would be addressed in the National Policing Bill and other consequential legislation being prepared by the working group.

Gbajabiamila said the assignment also includes a review of the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework, police regulations and other laws affected by the reform, alongside provisions for minimum national policing standards, state certification, interstate cooperation, independent complaints institutions, human rights safeguards, forensic systems, funding arrangements and transition plans.

He said President Tinubu had approved a multidisciplinary Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman, to provide technical oversight and validate the bill, fiscal framework and implementation materials before executive consideration.

He said the committee would draw its membership from the judiciary, academia, security agencies, the National Assembly, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and state Attorneys-General representing the six geopolitical zones. NigerianBusiness Coverage

Abiodun described the National Policing Bill as one of the most consequential reforms of the Tinubu administration, saying the legislation would provide the legal and operational framework needed to translate the constitutional amendment into a workable policing system.

Abiodun, who represents the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, told reporters that the bill would address critical issues, including the jurisdiction of federal and state police, funding arrangements, recruitment, start-up grants for states and amendments to existing laws affected by the reform.

He noted that many Nigerians had assumed that states would immediately establish police services once the National Assembly approved the constitutional amendment, explaining that the current assignment of the working group is to produce the detailed implementation framework that would make the reform operational. NigerianBusiness Coverage

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Abiodun said: “What we’ve seen and witnessed is the amendment of the Constitution, and we’ve seen a groundswell of support by the entirety of Nigerians with a very high level of expectation that once the amendment was completed by the National Assembly, the next thing is for states to begin to implement their various state policing systems.

“The truth is that what this working group is working on is what would allow for the details of that implementation, which will be reflected in the bill.”

Abiodun dismissed insinuations that the Federal Government was attempting to retain control over state policing through the proposed legislation, insisting that the bill was intended only to translate the constitutional amendment into an effective and workable legal framework.

He said: “Someone has to be responsible for ensuring that the amendment now reflects in a bill that can be operated, and that’s what we’re working on.”

The governor explained that the legislation would also make consequential amendments to other existing laws, including the Firearms Act, while clearly defining the responsibilities of both federal and state police services.

He urged Nigerians to actively participate in shaping the proposed legislation through the newly launched public engagement portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, describing it as an interactive platform designed to give citizens a sense of ownership of the reform. NigerianBusiness Coverage

Fagbemi said the primary objective of the proposed legislation was to strengthen the protection of lives and property while ensuring that state police never become instruments of political persecution.

He explained that where any state is not yet prepared to establish its own police service, the Nigeria Police Force would continue to provide policing until such capacity is developed.

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Fagbemi said: “Law abhors a vacuum, so the federal presence will continue to dominate in that area.”

The minister defended the proposed minimum national policing standards, saying they were essential to guarantee equal protection for Nigerians irrespective of where they reside. NigerianBusiness Coverage

He said: “The main thrust of this bill is to ensure security of lives and property, and it is also important that we do not make state policing a weapon of political persecution or oppression.

“There must be standards. There must be the minimum threshold to guarantee the continued existence and operation of society.”

The minister said the standards would be aligned with globally recognised policing practices, assuring that officers moving between the federal and state police services would not lose their benefits.

Other members of the Presidential Working Group at the briefing included the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu; NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN); Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee, Justice Abdullahi Liman; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu.

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has unveiled plans to establish 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of local solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing capacity by the end of 2027 as Nigeria intensifies efforts to expand electricity access and reduce dependence on imported renewable energy equipment.

Managing Director of the agency, Engr. Abba Aliyu, disclosed the initiative in Abuja during a benchmarking visit by officials of the Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority (ZURA).

He said the agency is encouraging Chinese solar manufacturers to establish production facilities in Nigeria, noting that locally assembled solar panels are already being exported from Lagos to neighbouring Ghana.

According to him, the planned manufacturing expansion will significantly reduce imports while strengthening Nigeria’s renewable energy value chain. Aliyu attributed the rapid global growth of renewable energy to falling prices of solar panels and lithium batteries, saying technological innovation has made off-grid electricity the most cost-effective solution for millions of underserved communities.

He said Nigeria’s electricity access rate currently stands at 61.2 per cent, leaving about 80 million people without reliable power supply.

To address the challenge, REA has adopted a least-cost electrification strategy that determines the most suitable technology for each community rather than relying solely on national grid expansion.

The agency has mapped more than 700,000 communities nationwide, with plans to serve about 45 per cent through solar home systems, 31 per cent through mini-grids and the remaining 24 per cent through grid extension.

Aliyu added that REA has developed one of Africa’s most extensive geospatial electricity databases, covering more than 51,000 health facilities, 11,000 markets, thousands of schools, factories, dams, electricity feeders and existing mini-grids to support investment planning.

He noted that the agency’s interventions also target underserved communities receiving less than six hours of electricity daily. The REA boss warned that electricity demand would continue to rise sharply as Nigeria’s population grows, more sectors become electrified and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and data centres consume increasing amounts of power.

•Explains how PFIPC was allocated money in the budget.

The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) yesterday explained that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which the presidency declared as fake and is currently being investigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, had its origin in the last administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu who provided the explanation in a statement, after appearing before members of the House of Representatives, in Abuja said the PFIPC’s institutional origin was premised on the Presidential Economic Advisory Council inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 9, 2019. He also explained how the fake agency was allocated money in the 2026 budget.

His words, “PEAC/PFIPC did not enter the 2026 Budget merely because it asked for funds. The Council had its origin in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council inaugurated during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari on October 9, 2019. By the time preparation of the 2026 Budget began, official instruments had already been issued by the institutions charged with those functions.

“The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had assigned an administrative code to the PFIPC. The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had approved an authorised establishment and a recruitment waiver. The applicable public-service salary structure also existed. These instruments did not come from the Budget Office. They came to it.

“The Budget Office did not create the Council. It did not assign its code. It did not approve its establishment. It did not grant its recruitment waiver. It received official instruments and did what the law required of it: it measured their fiscal effect.”

Mr. Tanimu further explained that the Council submitted a personnel estimate of N3.850 billion for the 2026 Fiscal Year and that his Office had to reduce that figure to N802.978 million, using the authorised establishment, the approved recruitment waiver, the applicable public-service salary structure and the extant costing methodology

According to the D-G, “Council later submitted a personnel estimate of N3,850,935,000.00. That estimate did not form the basis of the Budget Office’s recommendation. The Budget Office disregarded it and made an independent calculation using only the authorised establishment, the approved recruitment waiver, the applicable public-service salary structure and the extant costing methodology.

“That calculation produced N802,978,783.00. This was not a concession to the Council. It was the Budget Office’s own fiscal judgment. It was the amount placed in the Executive Budget proposal and later appropriated.

Mr Yakubu said that the Council could not receive the approved funds for personnel because its promoter, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi could not secure Financial Clearance, an instrument that confirms that necessary fiscal and regulatory had been met.

He said, “Financial Clearance is the point at which a personnel provision may begin to acquire legal force as expenditure. It is not a routine letter. It is the confirmation that the fiscal and regulatory conditions for recruitment have been met. Until it is issued, the figure remains in the budget. It does not create staff. It does not open payroll. It does not produce salary. The Budget Office did not issue Financial Clearance for PEAC/PFIPC because the conditions were incomplete.

“The 2026 Appropriation Bill did not become law until Presidential Assent on 31 March 2026. Before that date, the Budget Office could cost the proposal. It could not grant final Financial Clearance against a bill that had not yet become law.

“After assent, a further condition remained outstanding. The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had not confirmed that the proposed staffing and remuneration arrangements complied with its prescribed template and the approved public-service compensation framework.

“The Budget Office could calculate the cost. It could not open the gate. There was therefore no Financial Clearance. There was no lawful recruitment. There was no payroll enrollment. There was no salary payment.”

The D-G added, “The personnel provision was N802,978,783.00. It represented 61.63 per cent of the total appropriation of N1,302,978,783.00. It has sometimes been described as though the Council could have received the whole amount and spent it at will. That description is false.

“Personnel appropriations are not paid to agencies as lump sums. After every legal condition has been met, salaries are paid month by month. The money moves electronically into the designated bank accounts of verified employees enrolled on the Federal Government payroll.

“The institution does not receive the annual personnel provision as cash under its control. Even in a lawful process, the Council would not have received N802,978,783.00 in one payment. The money would have gone over twelve months to individual employees. That process never began. No Financial Clearance was issued. No recruitment took place. No payroll record was created. No salary became due. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn. Not one kobo was drawn. There is no personnel expenditure to recover because there was no personnel expenditure.”

The PFIPC controversy became public on June 11, 2026, when the Chief of Staff to the president, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, declared the Council as fake and petitioned the law enforcement agencies.

However, at a press conference on June 26, the Director General of the PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi faulted the presidency’s disclaimer. He alleged that Gbajabiamila received N400 million through a proxy and demanded an additional N200 million to secure his appointment — an allegation which the Chief of Staff denied and has sued him to court claiming N15b as damages for defamation. Adeyemi is currently in custody after he was arrested by the police in connection with the PFIPC scandal and alleged forgery.

Before his arrest, Adeyemi claimed he personally approached officials of the budget office to seek the inclusion of the Council in the federal government’s budget.

Recently, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that it opened two domiciliary accounts linked to the PFIPC on the directive of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

The apex bank, however, said the accounts, one denominated in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling, were never funded or operated.