The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has urged the Federal Government to suspend discussions on the proposed state police bill until after the 2027 general elections, warning that introducing such a far-reaching reform at this stage could undermine the electoral process.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, August 4, Sowore said the country should avoid making major constitutional changes when political attention is already focused on the coming elections.
“I would say that we wait until the elections are over. The election is a major distraction at this time — the election is months away, and everybody is going to be more interested in how to campaign, how to choose their candidates, and how to ensure the elections are free and fair,” Sowore said.
“To now insert state policing, a very major, major constitutional change of fundamental federal structural change that could lead to structural damage or that could lead to interference with the election, is not the best time.
“That is the only issue I have with it being rushed. So when we are done with the elections, we can commence immediately with a conversation about state policing and who is where in terms of breaking down the architecture in the country.”
His comments come a day after the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced that President Bola Tinubu is expected to receive the draft National Policing Bill on September 3 for consideration.
Briefing journalists after a meeting of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill at the State House on Monday, Gbajabiamila said, “The resulting executive bill package is scheduled for presentation to the President on the third of September. Subject to his approval, a national consultation on the completed draft will follow.”
“But I think that we have tweaked that so the national consultation will come before the President’s final approval, after which the text and supporting materials will be revised and prepared for formal transmission to the National Assembly,” Gbajabiamila, who also chairs the Presidential Working Group, said.
He explained that the committee had adopted a seven-week work plan running from July 27 to September 14, 2026, with legal drafting, policy research, data analysis and implementation modelling taking place simultaneously.
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However, Sowore criticised the pace of the process, arguing that Nigerians have not been given sufficient opportunity to debate the proposal.
“I also align, and I agree with those people who say this is suspicious, that this is being rushed and it’s not going through proper parliamentary procedures for the enactment of a major law like this, because this is a major constitutional change that we are going to experience.
“And that it should have been open to public debate. It should have gone across the states so that the public can make input, but we are being rushed and considering that the election year [is around the corner],” he said.
The AAC candidate also questioned whether state governors should be entrusted with control of state police formations, expressing concern that the new security structure could be abused for political purposes.
According to him, “Nigerian state governors are not trustworthy to be handed, you know, security personnel of this scale.”
He added that he feared “so that we don’t end up in the middle of elections with state police in the hands of these very ravenous political juggernauts who are called governors, apparently some of the most powerful politicians in the country?”
Calls for the creation of state police have intensified in recent years as insecurity continues to challenge several parts of the country.
While supporters argue that decentralising policing will improve local security and response times, critics have raised concerns about political abuse and the financial capacity of states to sustain their own police forces.
President Tinubu has repeatedly pledged to fast-track the legislation and has urged the National Assembly to expedite work on the bill.