The Presidency has called on Nigeria’s organised private sector to develop practical proposals for financing and implementing the proposed state police system, stressing that businesses have a stake in strengthening security institutions that protect investments and support economic growth.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, made the call during a plenary session on “Security, Stability and Economic Resilience” at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, October 27.
Gbajabiamila, who chairs the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, urged the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, chambers of commerce and business associations to develop proposals covering funding, institutional management and accountable partnerships.
He said insecurity continued to impose significant costs on businesses through disrupted supply chains, delayed factory expansions, abandoned investments and lost employment opportunities. According to him, President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to establishing state police offers the private sector an opportunity to contribute its expertise to building effective security institutions.
“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. Take that work into the legislative process and into your engagement with state governments,” he said.
Gbajabiamila encouraged business leaders to engage governors and lawmakers, drawing on their experience in institutional management, expenditure control and risk assessment. He also urged them to identify security challenges preventing otherwise viable investments from proceeding.
However, he cautioned that private sector participation must remain transparent and must not undermine police independence. He said contributions towards communications infrastructure, equipment maintenance and financial planning should be publicly disclosed and subjected to independent scrutiny.
“Where businesses provide resources, those contributions need published accounts and independent scrutiny. Public funding must remain dependable, and a donation must never purchase influence over an investigation or preferential treatment,” he said.
The presidential chief of staff stressed that states seeking to establish their own police services must demonstrate the capacity to finance them sustainably. He explained that the financial requirements would extend beyond purchasing vehicles, uniforms and equipment to include salaries, professional training, operational expenses and maintenance.
According to him, failure to provide adequate and sustainable funding could expose police institutions to private influence and create opportunities for unlawful demands on citizens.
He assured participants that federal policing would remain in place in states that were not financially or institutionally prepared to establish their own police services.
Providing an update on the proposed reform, Gbajabiamila disclosed that 24 State Houses of Assembly had approved the proposed constitutional amendment for state police as of October 23, meeting the required two-thirds threshold.
He added that the Presidential Working Group submitted the draft National Policing Bill and 29 consequential amendment bills to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 19 for legislative review.
According to him, the proposals would be presented to President Tinubu for approval following the review and final consideration before being transmitted to the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila explained that the proposed framework would allow states with the willingness and capacity to assume greater responsibility for local security, while federal police would continue to handle interstate crimes and specialised national security operations.
He argued that the reform was designed to address the existing arrangement in which state governments are expected to respond to security challenges without having corresponding control over policing.
Bringing policing closer to communities, he said, could improve intelligence gathering, strengthen local responses to threats and enhance emergency response capabilities.
On concerns that state police could be deployed for political purposes, Gbajabiamila said the proposed legislation would provide enforceable safeguards, national professional standards, independent oversight and remedies for misconduct.
“A citizen’s entitlement to protection cannot depend on whom he supports or where she comes from,” he said.
He added that the proposed framework had benefited from consultations with state governments, security institutions and members of the public, alongside input from a Policy Advisory Committee comprising representatives of the public and private sectors.
Gbajabiamila maintained that businesses should support security reform because the consequences of insecurity extend beyond the cost of hiring private guards or protecting commercial premises.
“A company can reinforce its perimeter. Its workers still have to travel home, and its suppliers still have to move through the surrounding communities. Your long-term security depends on the strength of public institutions beyond your gates,” he said.
He also outlined several security measures undertaken by the Tinubu administration, including the induction of helicopters into Army Aviation, the restoration of more than 100 refurbished armoured fighting vehicles and the commissioning of three additional naval vessels in June.
According to him, sustained operations against crude oil theft had contributed to improvements in oil production, foreign exchange earnings and government revenue.
On agricultural security, Gbajabiamila said 10,000 Agro-Rangers had been deployed across 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory to protect farming activities.
He further disclosed that more than 7,000 forest guards from seven frontline states had completed training by December 2025.
The presidential chief of staff also cited Tinubu’s August directive for a National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, which he said were intended to improve coordination, establish operational priorities and strengthen accountability across security operations.
Despite these measures, he acknowledged that kidnapping and violent attacks remained major concerns, stressing that Nigerians had the right to assess the government’s performance based on their personal safety.
“Nigerians living with the threat of abduction or attack are entitled to judge us by their own safety,” he said.
Gbajabiamila linked the proposed security reforms to the administration’s broader economic policies, including fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange restructuring and tax changes.
While acknowledging that the reforms had placed pressure on households and businesses, he argued that economic productivity and public safety were mutually dependent.
“A government with inadequate revenues cannot sustain the institutions required to protect its citizens. An economy in which people cannot work safely cannot generate the revenues government needs,” he said.
He urged investors to return to communities where improved security had made commercial activities possible, noting that renewed investment could restore jobs, revive supply chains and increase public revenue.
Gbajabiamila said the administration remained open to constructive criticism and practical recommendations, emphasising that cooperation between government, businesses and other stakeholders would be essential to translating the proposed reforms into effective security outcomes.
“A farmer returning to his land and an employer reopening a business will be making decisions about their families’ futures. Our work together must give them sound reasons to proceed,” he said.
