By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Presidency has tasked Nigeria’s organised private sector with developing a financing and implementation blueprint for the proposed state police system, as the constitutional reform advances.
Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, specifically charged the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), chambers of commerce and business associations with developing practical proposals for financing and accountable partnerships.
Gbajabiamila said businesses had a direct stake in the success of state police because insecurity was already disrupting supply chains, delaying investments, increasing security costs and limiting economic opportunities.
Speaking during a plenary session on “Security, Stability and Economic Resilience” at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, he said private-sector participation should extend beyond advocacy to the practical design and financing of the proposed system.
“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,” he said.
He urged business leaders to engage governors and legislators on the reform, saying their experience in institutional management, expenditure control and risk assessment could strengthen the proposed policing framework.
Gbajabiamila also asked the private sector to provide evidence of security failures that had prevented viable investments from proceeding, enabling policymakers to identify areas requiring additional security capacity.
Providing an update on the reform, the Chief of Staff disclosed that 24 State Houses of Assembly had approved the constitutional amendment providing for state police as of October 23, meeting the required two-thirds threshold.
He said 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.
Following the review and final consideration by the working group, the proposals are expected to be presented to President Tinubu for approval before transmission to the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila said the framework would allow willing and capable states to assume greater responsibility for protecting their residents while retaining a strong federal police institution to handle interstate crimes and specialised national security responsibilities.
He said the reform was intended to address the structural imbalance under which state governments often faced the consequences of insecurity without having 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 said.
Addressing concerns that state police could be deployed against political opponents or vulnerable communities, Gbajabiamila said the proposed legislation would contain enforceable safeguards, 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,” he said.
He added that private-sector involvement must remain transparent and should not compromise police independence.
According to him, businesses could provide expertise in communications infrastructure, equipment maintenance and financial planning, but such partnerships must operate within clear legal and accountability frameworks.
“Where businesses provide resources, those contributions need published accounts and independent scrutiny,” he warned.
He also stressed that states establishing their own police services must demonstrate the capacity to sustain recurrent expenditure, including salaries, 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,” he said.
Gbajabiamila assured that federal policing would continue in states that were not yet financially or institutionally prepared to establish their own services.
He further linked the reform to broader economic priorities, arguing that insecurity imposes costs on businesses through additional security expenses, disrupted deliveries and abandoned investment plans.
He said companies could not guarantee sustainable operations by securing only their premises while surrounding communities remained unsafe.
“A company can reinforce its perimeter. Its workers still have to travel home, and its suppliers still have to move through the surrounding communities,” he said.
The Chief of Staff also highlighted other security measures, including the deployment of Agro-Rangers to protect farming communities, forest guards, military modernisation and maritime security operations.
He acknowledged that Nigerians continued to face kidnapping and violent attacks despite government investments, stressing that the ultimate measure of the reforms would be the safety of citizens.
“Nigerians living with the threat of abduction or attack are entitled to judge us by their own safety,” he said.
Gbajabiamila urged investors to return to communities where insecurity had disrupted commercial activities, saying renewed investment would create jobs, restore supply chains and expand public revenue.
