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• No request from Tinubu ever died on 1st reading –Akpabio
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has pledged the unwavering and total support of the senate to President Bola Tinubu’s request for the upper legislative chamber to kick off constitutional amendments to accommodate state police.
Responding to President Tinubu’s request, Akpabio assured that no request from the president had ever died in the first reading, pledging that the senate would give unwavering support to the request of amending the constitution to accommodate state police.
He said: “We have nothing to give to you, except to assure you of our loyalty. I’m sure you have noticed that nothing you have ever sent to us died on first reading and it will never happen.”
He detailed the Senate’s rigorous process, saying “We sit down to painstakingly go through everything that comes before us, and then at the end, we see that it is in the interest of Nigerians, even when the social media is not seeing it.”
He praised Tinubu’s reforms on taxes, forex, subsidies and elections, predicting prosperity by 2031, despite troubles and sponsored insecurity.
President Tinubu had, during an interfaith iftar with Senate leaders at the State House, Abuja, urged the Senate to kick off constitutional amendments to reshape Nigeria’s security framework against surging terrorism, banditry and insurgency.
He stressed the need for subnational governments to control policing, so they can reclaim forests from criminals and protect citizens.
“Nigeria is extremely challenged, we are facing terrorism, banditry, insurgency, but you never failed to make a right response to these calls. What I will ask for tonight is for you to start thinking how best to amend the Constitution to incorporate the state police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders and free our children from fear,” Tinubu said.
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This plea builds on Tinubu’s year-long drive. In February 2024, he formed a federal-state committee with governors to map out state police options. He repeated the urgency in November 2025 to the National Assembly at the APC caucus in December and just days ago, with governors during the breaking of fast, he insisted that state police “can’t wait and will not be postponed.”
He described the reform as a unifying duty, saying, “What you have faced in the challenging period of this country, terrorism and banditry, is causing us havoc and we should pull together, unite in a way that our forefathers contemplated to bring about a constitutional democracy and pull us together. They didn’t say we should fight.”
He also hailed the senate’s support for his economic overhauls, like ending fuel subsidies and unifying forex markets, which he called a blow to monumental corruption.
“I have a lot of credit for bold reforms. Without your collaborations, without your inspirations, those reforms are not possible. We are reformists together,” Tinubu said.
“What we gave up and what we stopped is monumental corruption in subsidy. We gave it up. We don’t want to participate in monumental corruption, in arbitrage, foreign exchange.”
The President noted emerging stability, saying, “You don’t have to chase me for dollars. In the past, you could see what Nigeria is today. You should be proud. What we are enjoying is a stable economy, prosperity beckoning on us. We just need to work hard for it.”
Brushing off opposition attacks on stifling dissent, he quipped: “When they accused me of killing oppositions, I didn’t have a gun. I can’t blame anybody for jumping out of a sinking ship if they did.”
He linked Ramadan and Lent’s overlap to national harmony, saying, “We are committed to the Nigerian entity succeeding. We are committed to making law for the welfare and prosperity of the country. I think we are committed together to govern together.”
