The National Assembly will today resume plenary with key deliberations expected to centre on President Bola Tinubu’s N58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill, the establishment of state police, and ongoing amendments to the 1999 Constitution, placing major governance and security reforms at the forefront of its legislative agenda.
Lawmakers in both chambers are returning to parliamentary activities at a time when the country is grappling with persistent security challenges and economic pressures, with debates expected to focus on how the proposed budget and constitutional reforms can strengthen governance and address Nigeria’s growing insecurity.
The resumption of legislative sessions comes one week after the Senate assured Nigerians that it would complete the amendment of the constitution to allow the creation of state police before the end of 2026, a development that has intensified national debate on decentralised policing as a possible solution to rising cases of banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and communal clashes across several parts of the country.
Providing further insight into the Senate’s position, the spokesperson of the upper chamber, Yemi Adaramodu, said the lawmakers were prepared to resume work immediately on the constitutional review once plenary reconvenes.
Adaramodu told The PUNCH that the Senate would waste no time in continuing the amendment process, explaining that substantial groundwork had already been done before legislative attention temporarily shifted to electoral reforms. According to him, the Senate intends to treat the matter with urgency so that the amendment process can be concluded before the political atmosphere becomes dominated by preparations for the next general election. The renewed push for state police also follows a request by President Bola Tinubu to lawmakers to begin the formal process of amending the constitution to incorporate state police as part of broader efforts to address the country’s deepening insecurity.
However, the President also cautioned that such reforms must be carefully structured to prevent potential misuse by state governments. Tinubu had urged members of the House of Representatives to ensure that any constitutional amendment establishing state police must include adequate safeguards and institutional checks.
According to him, the reform should not be “a straight free fall for everybody,” but must instead be designed with proper checks and balances based on lessons drawn from past experiences with governance structures.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s new Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, has described the creation of state police as a necessary and practical response to Nigeria’s complex security landscape. Speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Ibrahim argued that the current centralised policing structure may not be sufficient to address the country’s vast geographical and security challenges.
He said, “There is no way within the geographical terrain of Nigeria that the federal police can police all the forests that we have in this country.” Ibrahim further stressed the urgency of adopting decentralised policing, adding, “So, the state police issue is important. If you don’t have it, the alternative to not having state police is to have a state of insecurity. That is exactly what will happen.”
He also advised lawmakers to undertake comparative studies before finalising the legislation. “What the National Assembly should do now is to do cross-fertilisation studies. Look at countries where state police are legislated upon and where practice is happening, go there, study it and revert, not just to make laws,” he said. Ibrahim added that local stakeholders should also play a role in the proposed system.
“Also, participants and stakeholders at the state level must be involved. For example, you can create a constitutional rule for the traditional rulers to be part of the policing system at the state level because every criminal resides in one village, town or the other.” Drawing on his academic background, he added, “As somebody who has studied extensively and obtained a PhD in modern war studies, I can tell you that state police legislation is important. It is a panacea for national development, and not having state police is to have insecurity. That would be more disastrous.”
The debate over decentralised policing gained further traction last week when the newly sworn-in Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, inaugurated a committee tasked with examining the feasibility of establishing state police across the country.
According to Disu, the committee will study existing policing models both within and outside Nigeria in order to determine how decentralised policing could work effectively within the Nigerian system. He said the panel would also evaluate the security needs of local communities and develop an operational framework for possible state police structures.
The committee, he explained, would examine critical issues including recruitment processes, training standards, funding mechanisms, accountability systems and oversight structures required to ensure transparency and effectiveness. Disu noted that decentralised policing could potentially strengthen grassroots security architecture and enable faster responses to emerging threats across the states.
However, the spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, clarified that the creation of state police can only take effect through a constitutional amendment process. Rotimi explained that the move by the police leadership to establish an implementation committee does not replace or override the constitutional procedures required to formalise 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 items currently under consideration as part of the broader constitutional review being undertaken by the National Assembly.
Earlier, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, also reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to accelerating work on the constitutional amendment, expressing confidence that the process could be concluded within the first quarter of 2026.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Bamidele disclosed that committees in both chambers had already begun detailed scrutiny of the revenue and expenditure estimates contained in the N58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill presented by President Tinubu to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2025. On the constitutional review, he said technical sessions and public hearings had already been completed and that the report would soon be presented to lawmakers.
“The review of the 1999 Constitution is also at its peak. Before the first quarter elapses, the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Barau Jibrin, will lay the report of the exercise before the Senate,” Bamidele assured.
He further explained that the final stage of the constitutional amendment process would require approval by at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, underscoring the crucial role of sub-national legislatures in the alteration of the nation’s constitution.
Reflecting on the tenure of the 10th National Assembly, Bamidele noted that only 16 months remain out of its constitutionally prescribed 48-month lifespan, pledging that lawmakers would intensify reforms aimed at strengthening governance, improving electoral processes and supporting economic diversification across the country.