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…Senate Leader dedicates Sun award to President, 108 senators, constituents
From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has said the National Assembly will transmit the State Police (Constitution Alteration) Bill, 2026, to President Bola Tinubu for assent this week, following its approval by at least 32 State Houses of Assembly.
Bamidele, who disclosed this on Friday night while receiving The Sun Senator of the Year Award, said the National Assembly had crossed the constitutional threshold required for the proposed amendment, ending more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to reform Nigeria’s policing system.
He said the legislature was expecting four more state assemblies to submit their reports when the National Assembly resumes on November 17, but insisted that the process must proceed irrespective of whether the outstanding reports were received.
“We are now under obligation to transmit the State Police (Constitution Alteration) Bill, 2026 to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for assent.
“This is a responsibility we must consciously discharge on behalf of our constituents and in the interest of national peace, progress, and stability,” he said.
The Senate Leader, who received the award from the Founder of The Sun Publishing Limited and Chairman of the South East Development Commission, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, said the recognition was not a personal achievement but an acknowledgement of the collective efforts of the 10th National Assembly.
He dedicated the award to God, President Tinubu, the 108 other senators and his constituents, whom he said entrusted him with their mandate.
Bamidele, who was accompanied by serving and former senators, governors and political associates, said the proposed state police system was not intended to create ethnic or state armies, but to establish community-based policing within clearly defined constitutional safeguards.
He said the passage of the bill reflected the legislature’s commitment to proactive lawmaking and a departure from reactive governance.
“I believe in proactive lawmaking. I believe Nigeria must move from reactive governance to proactive governance. I believe our laws must be evidence-based, efficiently implemented, effectively monitored, periodically reviewed, and ultimately measured by their impact on citizens,” he said.
Bamidele also defended the performance of the 10th National Assembly, arguing that its effectiveness should be assessed by the impact of its legislation rather than the number of bills passed.
He cited the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, saying the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had disbursed more than N204bn to applicants in 89 colleges, 108 polytechnics and 126 universities.
According to him, the scheme had helped reduce the rate of dropouts in tertiary institutions by expanding access to interest-free loans.
He also listed the National Social Investment Programmes Act, 2023; Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024; Tax Reform Acts, 2025; Investments and Securities Act, 2025; Electoral Act, 2026; Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024; and the Regional Development Commissions Acts among the major legislative interventions of the current parliament.
On the relationship between the legislature and the executive, Bamidele said the principle of separation of powers should not be interpreted as hostility among the arms of government.
“Separation of powers is not about hostility, but synergy; not grandstanding, but collaboration; not dissension, but interdependence among the arms of government,” he said.
He added that he had discharged his responsibilities in the Senate independently while maintaining constructive engagement with other arms of government in the interest of national development, peace and security.
The Senate Leader, however, called for a collective response to what he described as the irresponsible use of social media, warning against character assassination, blackmail and the deliberate circulation of false information.
While reaffirming his commitment to press freedom, an open parliament and sustained engagement with journalists, he urged media organisations to take a position on the growing abuse of digital platforms.
“We have seen characters assassinated. We have seen public institutions blackmailed. We have watched people deliberately distort facts. We have seen people unjustifiably peddling lies. We cannot fold our hands and allow this illegality to continue,” he said.
Bamidele, who said he had also been a victim of such activities, challenged media stakeholders to consider whether social media should remain unregulated despite its growing influence on public life.
“The urgent questions are: Should we leave unregulated this space that defines our lives in the decades to come? Or do we prefer a space where characters are assassinated daily, lies peddled, and public institutions unjustifiably discredited?” he asked.
He specifically urged the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Nigerian Guild of Editors and Nigeria Union of Journalists to contribute to defining standards for responsible information dissemination.
According to him, information must be disseminated objectively and responsibly, whether through traditional or social media, in line with international best practices.
He said the purpose of information dissemination should be to inform rather than disinform, build rather than destroy, and promote development rather than blackmail.
