By The Metro 
Four states have so far approved the constitutional amendment bill seeking to provide legal backing for the establishment of state police, the Presidency has said.
The Presidency gave the names of the states as Edo, Rivers, Osun and Oyo.
Meanwhile, the amendment requires approval by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly before it can proceed to the next stage of the constitutional process.
Nnadubem Moghalu, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Planning and Research and Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, made this known in Abuja yesterday.
Moghalu, while delivering a lecture titled “The Imperative for State Police: Securing Communities, Strengthening Federalism,” at the 2nd Annual Distinguished Parliamentary Award and Lecture Series organised by the House of Representatives Press Corps, said the National Assembly had already transmitted the constitutional amendment bill to the state Houses of Assembly for consideration.
He explained that the constitutional amendment and the National Policing Bill being prepared by the Presidential Working Group were separate but complementary processes.
According to him, the constitutional amendment would create the legal basis for a dual policing model, while the National Policing Bill would provide the operational framework for its implementation.
“An alteration to the Constitution cannot, by itself, recruit and train an officer or equip a police station. It cannot create the administrative capacity to investigate a crime. Those tasks require preparation and resources, and they take time,” he said.
Moghalu said President Tinubu’s decision to constitute the working group before the constitutional process was concluded was aimed at ensuring that the country was prepared for the administrative, financial and institutional requirements of state policing.
Moghalu said the National Policing Bill was being developed through consultations with stakeholders, including academics, think tanks, community advocacy groups, socio-cultural organisations, political groups and security agencies.
He said the working group had earlier invited memoranda from Nigerians through advertisements in national newspapers and broadcast stations in English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.
“The core of the National Policing Bill is settled. Work continues to ensure that its parts operate coherently and that the proposed solutions do not create difficulties elsewhere,” he said.
He, however, declined to disclose individual provisions of the proposed legislation, saying Nigerians should be allowed to examine the complete bill when it is transmitted to the National Assembly.
Moghalu said the working group would submit a draft validated by the group and the Ministry of Justice to the President for consideration and transmission to the National Assembly.
The presidential aide stressed that the proposed reform must not merely replicate existing policing weaknesses across more institutions.
“If these reforms merely federalise the status quo, distributing familiar failures across more institutions, they will have failed,” he said.
He also called for adequate funding, training, equipment and welfare for police officers, stressing that legislation alone would not guarantee effective policing.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, said the Nigeria Police Force remained committed to supporting constitutional and legislative efforts aimed at strengthening law enforcement and improving community safety.
Represented at the event, the IGP said robust and transparent discussions on state policing, community engagement and decentralisation were necessary for sustainable progress.