By Desire Emmanuel
The Presidency on Thursday, June 4, disclosed that the Federal Government has made substantial strides towards establishing state police, with a constitutional amendment anticipated in the coming weeks.
Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, said this while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting convened by the Presidency at the State House, Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said deliberations on the framework for state police began four months ago following a direct order from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said: “Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities.
“Thank God we have now gained a lot of traction. Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.”
He explained that discussions had now advanced to the stage of finetuning the necessary constitutional amendments, after which an enabling law will be enacted.
“Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter,” Gbajabiamila added.
The Chief of Staff noted that the national conversation had shifted from whether state police should be established to how best to design its legal and institutional framework, adding that there is broad support across the country for the initiative.
