State Police: Presidential Working Group extends deadline on submission of memoranda

THE Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for the submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation to next week.

Chief of Staff to the president and chairman, Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this in a statement he personally signed and made available to State House correspondents on Thursday.

Gbajabiamila noted that “the extension is intended to provide stakeholders with additional time for thorough preparation and ensure that interested individuals, institutions and organisations have adequate opportunity to make well-considered contributions to the proposed legislation.

“The Presidential Working Group is committed to ensuring that the process of developing the National Policing Bill benefits from broad consultation and the informed perspectives of Nigerians and relevant stakeholders.”

The Chief of Staff, who maintained that the National Policing Bill deserves holistic contributions from Nigerians urged Civil Society Organisations and professional bodies to take advantage of the extension in timelines for submissions of memoranda.

His statement further read: “The proposed legislation is intended to provide the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework necessary for an effective policing architecture that responds to Nigeria’s evolving security needs while providing appropriate safeguards for accountability, professionalism and the protection of citizens’ rights.

“Given the significance of the proposed reform to the future of policing and internal security in Nigeria, the Working Group considers it important that stakeholders are afforded more opportunity to make substantive and technically sound contributions to the process.

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“Accordingly, legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and interested members of the public are encouraged to take advantage of the extended period to submit their memoranda and position papers.”

“All submissions must be made on or before 5:00 pm on Friday, August 21, 2026, exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal.

“The Working Group recognises that developing an effective policing framework requires careful consideration of critical issues, including sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms and safeguards against political interference or abuse.

“At the conclusion of its assignment, the Presidential Working Group will present a final, implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for onward legislative processing.”