Senate President Godswill Akpabio has disclosed that 30 states have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow states to establish their own police, as part of ongoing efforts to address the country’s worsening security challenges.
Akpabio made the remarks in Abuja during a visit by the Arewa Revival Project, a youth organization with members across the 19 northern states.
He said the amendment would create a decentralized policing system intended to complement federal security agencies and improve responses to local threats.
“About 30 states have endorsed the amendment to the Nigerian Constitution to bring about a state police system, which will further increase the security of the nation,” Akpabio said, adding that the process could be completed within a month.
He said under the constitution, a constitutional amendment requires approval by at least two-thirds of the country’s 36 state legislatures, 24 states, after passage by the National Assembly.
The presidential working group on policing said 24 assemblies had approved the measure by October 23, clearing that threshold; Akpabio’s figure of 30 suggests additional endorsements since then.
Akpabio coupled his security message with a call for northern youths to mobilize support for President Bola Tinubu’s expected 2027 re-election campaign.
He argued that continuity would give the administration time to consolidate economic reforms and security policies.
He defended Tinubu’s record, saying the president had moved Nigeria away from reliance on crude-oil revenue and pursued tax and legal reforms.
Akpabio also said lawmakers had given the president a “pass mark” and endorsed him for a second term.
The Senate president urged supporters to counter what he described as paid social-media campaigns against the administration, advising them to focus on grassroots engagement rather than sustained online disputes.
He alleged that many of the president’s online critics were paid, without providing evidence.
Akpabio said the proposed
state-police framework would place security operations closer to communities while retaining the federal police structure.
