The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has said President Bola Tinubu is passionate about establishing a sustainable school feeding programme, expressing confidence that it would be firmly in place before the end of the administration.

She stated this on Tuesday while receiving a five-member delegation from the World Bank led by its Country Director for Nigeria, Dr Matthew Verghis, at the State House, Abuja.

According to a statement released by her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi, the meeting focused on strengthening collaboration on Early Childhood Development programmes in Nigeria.

Speaking during the engagement, the First Lady stressed the importance of investing in children from an early age to improve their growth and future prospects.

“Investing in early childhood development remains critical, not just to improve growth opportunities for children, but also to shape and sharpen their focus,” she said.

She noted that the Federal Government remained committed to initiatives that would improve the lives of Nigerians.

“The population size of Nigeria alone is our advantage because Nigeria is a great nation,” she said.

Senator Tinubu said the administration had adopted a multi-sectoral approach to development, citing interventions in health, education, environmental sanitation and nutrition.

“You talked on multi-sectoral approach; that is what we have been doing. I will say that Mr President has gotten himself a wonderful team; they got it.

“When it comes to tuberculosis, we went out for sensitisation and promoted the campaign. And now, talking about our children, those are the joy of our nation; if we have to do a lot,” she said.

The First Lady also pledged to continue working with the wives of state governors to implement programmes aimed at improving children’s welfare across the country.

“We are looking forward to school feeding. I can assure that before we finish our tenure, it would have been properly established because even Mr President is very passionate about this, even when he was the Governor in Lagos State,” she said.

Earlier, Verghis called for stronger collaboration with Nigerian leaders to advance Early Childhood Development, describing it as one of the country’s most important long-term investments.

“Every five or six years, we reframe our programmes in Nigeria. Nigeria is, unsurprisingly, one of the World Bank’s largest partners and our office here is one of the largest in the world.

“In the framework, investing in people is an important focus of the World Bank. We are partners in education and nutrition programmes. We have programmes on skills. We recognise the importance of investing in people,” he said.

He said investments in children from pregnancy to age five improve cognitive development, reduce healthcare costs and help break cycles of poverty.

Verghis also urged the First Lady to use her platform to promote a multi-sectoral approach to Early Childhood Development programmes.

“Nigeria is a very important partner for the World Bank and her success is crucial for the World Bank to achieve its target.

“We have targets for healthcare delivery, broadband access and energy access. For these various things, if Nigeria does not succeed, the World Bank is not succeeding,” he said.

The World Bank delegation said its five-year country partnership framework would focus on implementing programmes that improve nutrition, education, sanitation and other key areas affecting child development, adding that the First Lady’s leadership would be critical to the initiative’s success.

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President Bola Tinubu has transmitted to the House of Representatives a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide the legal framework for the establishment of state police across the country.

The bill marks the most significant restructuring of Nigeria’s policing architecture since the return to democratic rule in 1999.

In a letter dated June 15, 2026, and addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the President urged lawmakers to give expedited consideration to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, describing the proposal as a key component of his administration’s security reforms.

Reading the letter during Tuesday’s plenary by the Speaker, Tinubu said the bill seeks to create “a constitutional pathway for the establishment of State Police Services” to strengthen Nigeria’s response to growing security challenges.

According to the President, the proposed legislation builds on previous work already undertaken by the House of Representatives on the issue while introducing additional safeguards to ensure the effective operation of a dual policing system.

“This bill builds on the significant work already done in this regard by the House of Representatives and incorporates additional safeguards to ensure that the creation of a dual policing structure to address our nation’s evolving national security challenges can be achieved quickly and effectively to the benefit of all Nigerians,” the letter stated.

The President described the legislation as a critical aspect of his administration’s efforts to reorganise the country’s security architecture and appealed to lawmakers to accord it speedy legislative consideration.

“The proposed legislation is a critical component of our administration’s strategy to reorganise Nigeria’s security architecture to better protect our citizens, and I am confident that the House of Representatives will act quickly to consider and pass this bill,” Tinubu wrote.

The President also expressed optimism that the National Assembly would expedite work on the proposal, saying he looked forward to its prompt consideration.

The latest move represents the strongest executive push yet for constitutional recognition of state policing, a proposal that has remained one of the country’s most debated constitutional reform issues for over two decades.

Nigeria currently operates a single, centrally controlled police system under the Nigeria Police Force, as provided by the 1999 Constitution. Successive administrations, state governors, security experts and constitutional reform advocates have argued that the country’s centralised policing structure has become overstretched in the face of rising insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and other violent crimes.

The call for state police has gained momentum in recent years as governors increasingly rely on regional and state-backed security outfits, including Amotekun in the South-West, Ebube Agu in parts of the South-East and various vigilante organisations, to complement federal security agencies.

Supporters of state police argue that decentralising policing would improve intelligence gathering, response time and community policing, while opponents have consistently raised concerns over the potential abuse of state-controlled police by governors for political purposes.

The House of Representatives has, in recent years, considered several constitutional amendment proposals on state police through its Constitution Review Committee, but none has completed the rigorous constitutional amendment process requiring approval by two-thirds of both chambers of the National Assembly and at least 24 state Houses of Assembly.

If passed by the National Assembly and ratified by 24 out of the 36 state assemblies, the bill would amend the Constitution to establish a dual policing system, allowing both the Federal Government and state governments to operate constitutionally recognised police services.

The proposed legislation is expected to trigger fresh debate within the National Assembly and among stakeholders over the structure, powers, funding, oversight and operational safeguards for state police as lawmakers begin consideration of the bill.

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The House of Representatives has withdrawn its proposed constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police, opting instead to consider a similar bill transmitted by the Executive.

The development emerged during Tuesday’s plenary, where lawmakers gave the Executive-sponsored state police bill its first and second readings.

The bill was subsequently referred to the House Committee on Constitutional Review for further legislative action.

The decision effectively suspends the House’s earlier proposal as lawmakers shift attention to the Executive-backed amendment.

The Executive bill is expected to undergo detailed scrutiny at the committee stage, where lawmakers will examine its key provisions before it is returned to the floor for further consideration.

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