State Police: Presidency tasks private sector on funding, implementation blueprint

The Presidency has challenged Nigeria’s organised private sector to develop a comprehensive financing and implementation blueprint for the proposed state police system, declaring that businesses must take an active role in building the security institutions needed to protect investments, create jobs and strengthen economic resilience.

The Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, issued the challenge during a plenary session on “Security, Stability and Economic Resilience” at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit.

He called on the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), chambers of commerce and business associations to develop practical proposals for financing, institutional management and accountable partnerships to support the decentralisation of policing.

The proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police has met the required two-thirds threshold, with 25 state Houses of Assembly having reportedly approved it.

Gbajabiamila said the private sector had a direct stake in the success of the reform because insecurity was already imposing enormous costs on businesses through disrupted supply chains, abandoned investments, postponed factory expansions and lost economic opportunities.

He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to establishing state police presented an opportunity for businesses to contribute directly to developing security institutions capable of supporting sustainable economic growth.

“I therefore ask the Nigerian Economic Summit Group to carry this engagement beyond our meeting. Bring forward a considered private sector contribution on financing and implementing state police, with practical proposals for accountable partnerships.

“Take that work into the legislative process and into your engagement with state governments. For our part, we remain answerable for turning reform into protection that people can rely on,” he said.

Gbajabiamila urged business leaders to engage governors and legislators on the proposed reform, highlighting the relationship between effective local policing, employment generation and investment decisions.

He explained that the private sector’s experience in managing institutions, controlling expenditure and assessing risks could strengthen the design and implementation of the new policing framework.

According to him, the organised private sector should also provide evidence of security failures preventing otherwise viable investments from proceeding, enabling policymakers to determine where additional security capacity was most urgently required.

“Your participation should also improve the substance of the reform. As the legislative process proceeds, examine the proposals for financing and oversight.

“Bring your experience of managing institutions and controlling expenditure to that discussion. Help us understand the security failures that prevent viable projects from proceeding,” he stated.

However, the Chief of Staff cautioned that private sector involvement must be transparent and must not compromise the independence of police institutions.

He said businesses could contribute expertise in communications infrastructure, equipment maintenance and financial planning, but insisted that such partnerships must operate within clearly defined legal and accountability frameworks.

“Where businesses provide resources, those contributions need published accounts and independent scrutiny.

“Public funding must remain dependable, and a donation must never purchase influence over an investigation or preferential treatment. The object is to strengthen a public service on which every citizen can rely,” he warned.

Gbajabiamila said the administration was determined to establish financially sustainable state police institutions, insisting that states seeking to operate their own police services must demonstrate the capacity to meet recurrent expenditure obligations.

He said providing vehicles, uniforms and other equipment at the commencement of operations would be insufficient without sustainable arrangements for personnel salaries, professional training and operational maintenance.

“Financial readiness is equally important. A state taking on policing must be able to sustain the service after the initial purchase of vehicles and uniforms.

“Regular pay and continued training are essential to professional conduct. An institution that cannot meet its obligations to its officers becomes vulnerable to private patrons and unlawful demands on the public,” he cautioned.

He further assured Nigerians that the federal police would continue to operate in states that were not yet financially or institutionally prepared to establish their own police services.

Providing an update on the legislative process, he disclosed that the Presidential Working Group had submitted the draft National Policing Bill and 29 consequential amendment bills to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 19 for legislative review.

According to him, following the review and the Working Group’s final consideration, the proposals would be presented to President Tinubu for approval before being transmitted to the National Assembly.

He explained that the proposed framework would enable willing and capable states to assume greater responsibility for protecting their residents while retaining a strong federal police institution to address interstate criminal activities and other specialised national security requirements.

Gbajabiamila said the reform was intended to correct the structural imbalance under which state governments were responsible for responding to the consequences of insecurity without possessing corresponding authority to organise policing.

“Bringing policing closer to the communities it serves can improve local intelligence and shorten the time between a call for help and an effective response,” he explained.

Addressing concerns about the possible deployment of state police against political opponents, the Chief of Staff assured Nigerians that the proposed legislation would contain enforceable safeguards, national professional standards and independent oversight mechanisms.

“The concern that police powers could be used against political opponents or vulnerable communities is serious. Our answer is to place enforceable limits on those powers and provide remedies when they are abused.

“A citizen’s entitlement to protection cannot depend on whom he supports or where she comes from,” he declared.