State Police bill product of national consensus, not cynicism — Senate

The Senate on Sunday defended the passage of the State Police Bill, saying that the idea was a product of national consensus.

According to the Senate, the initiative “is purely a child of necessity and not of political expediency as well as a product of national consensus and not of cynicism.”

The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said the legislative body took the step as a matter of urgent national importance, taking into cognisance the prevailing security challenges of the country.

In a statement by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, the leader noted that despite some dissenting views, Nigerians largely welcomed the passage of the bill, convinced that it would significantly de-escalate Nigeria’s security conditions at the subnational level.

Bamidele explained that the state police proposal was part of memoranda submitted to the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, saying the memorandum had been subjected to rigorous processes and multi-tiered consultations across the federation due its sensitive nature.

He stated that during the work, the National Assembly broadly consulted the Executive, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Conference of Speakers of the State Legislatures of Nigeria and the leadership of the Nigeria Police, among others.

According to him, in July 2025, the National Assembly conducted public hearings in all geo-political zones, where the participants overwhelmingly approved it. He added that at each level of our consultation, nearly all stakeholders embraced the bill in the light of stark realities we are facing today.

The leader also explained the contributions of the Nigeria Police Force to the process of the enacting the constitution alteration bill, which according to him, formed part of the highly vital recommendations that could help the National Assembly develop accountability and oversight mechanisms that would prevent the abuse of state police by some political actors.

He said the resolve of the police “to support the bill obviously highlights its strategic national significance to deal with insecurity at local and state levels.”

Beyond the input of the Nigeria Police, Bamidele further explained how the consideration of the bill was subjected to intense debates at the Senate and House of Representatives.

The leader noted, “Even though the APC is the majority, there are members of opposition parties – PDP, ADC, NDC and Labour Party – that exercised their discretion in favour of the Bill, mainly in the national interest and not on parochial basis.

“In the Senate, for instance, 84 out of 109 members voted clause by clause in support of the Bill. This accounted for 77.06% approval at the Senate alone, “he disclosed.

He observed that around the world security “is a collective public good that benefits citizenry across ethnic, political and religious divides. Political actors elsewhere always throw off their togas of partisanship and parochialism to support initiatives that will boost and reinforce national security.”

He called on opposition parties and leaders to come forward with ideas that would deepen the peace and stability of the federation at this critical stage of its democratic journey.