The Presidency has challenged Nigeria’s organised private sector to develop a financing and implementation blueprint for the proposed State Police system, stressing that businesses must contribute to building security institutions capable of protecting investments and strengthening economic resilience.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, specifically tasked the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), chambers of commerce and business associations with producing practical proposals on financing, institutional management and accountable partnerships.
Speaking during a plenary session on “Security, Stability and Economic Resilience” at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, Gbajabiamila said insecurity was costing businesses investments, disrupting supply chains, delaying factory expansions and undermining employment opportunities.
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to establishing state police provided an opportunity for businesses to contribute to 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 urged business leaders to engage governors and legislators, contribute expertise in institutional management, expenditure control and risk assessment, and identify security failures preventing viable investments.
He, however, warned that private sector involvement must not compromise police independence, insisting that contributions towards communications infrastructure, equipment maintenance and financial planning must be transparent.
“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 cautioned.
He stressed that states seeking to establish police services must demonstrate sustainable financial capacity beyond the initial provision of vehicles, uniforms and equipment, particularly for salaries, professional training and operational maintenance.
According to him, failure to meet these obligations could expose police institutions to private influence and unlawful demands on citizens.
He assured that federal policing would continue in states not financially or institutionally prepared to establish their own services.
Providing an update on the reform, Gbajabiamila 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 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, the proposals would be presented to President Tinubu for approval before transmission to the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila explained that the proposed framework would empower willing and capable states to assume greater responsibility for local security while retaining federal policing for interstate crimes and specialised national security operations.
He said the reform would address the imbalance whereby state governments respond to insecurity without corresponding control over policing, adding that decentralisation would improve local intelligence and emergency response.
Addressing fears of political abuse, he assured that the legislation would establish enforceable safeguards, national professional standards, independent oversight and remedies against misconduct.
“A citizen’s entitlement to protection cannot depend on whom he supports or where she comes from,” he declared.
He added that the framework has benefited from consultations with State governments, security institutions, the public and a Policy Advisory Committee comprising public and private sector representatives.
Gbajabiamila argued that businesses had compelling reasons to support the reform because insecurity imposed costs beyond private security expenditure, including abandoned investments, delayed expansion and disrupted commercial activities.
“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 stated.
Highlighting wider security interventions, he said Tinubu had strengthened the Armed Forces through the induction of helicopters into Army Aviation, restoration of over 100 refurbished armoured fighting vehicles and commissioning of three additional naval vessels in June.
He said sustained operations against crude oil theft had contributed to improvements in oil production, foreign exchange earnings and government revenues.
On agricultural security, he disclosed that 10,000 Agro-Rangers had been deployed across 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory to protect farming activities, while more than 7,000 forest guards from seven frontline states had completed training by December 2025.
He also recalled Tinubu’s August directive for a National Threat Assessment and rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan to strengthen coordination, operational priorities and accountability.
Acknowledging continuing kidnapping and violent attacks, Gbajabiamila said Nigerians were entitled to measure security improvements by their safety rather than increased operational capacity.
“Nigerians living with the threat of abduction or attack are entitled to judge us by their own safety,” he said.
Linking security to economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange restructuring and tax reforms, he acknowledged the pressure on households and businesses but insisted 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 explained.
He urged investors to return to communities where improved security had made commercial activities possible again, stressing that renewed investments would restore employment, supply chains and public revenues.
Gbajabiamila assured that the administration welcomed constructive criticism and practical recommendations, insisting that collaboration was essential to translating President Tinubu’s reforms into dependable protection.
“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.
- Media Report