…Rallies support for Reserved Seats Bill
By Saint Mugaga

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu,PhD, CFR has declared that Nigeria can no longer delay the creation of state police if it hopes to tackle its security challenges effectively.

Kalu, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on his return from Geneva, Switzerland, where he attended the 55th Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization/Inter-Parliamentary Union (WTO-IPU) Public Forum 2025, where he represented Nigeria said Nigeria’s current centralized policing structure was inadequate and far behind global standards.

Earlier hosted by Nigerian Students at Harvard Kennedy School in Massachusetts, United States, Kalu said the only way this can be achieved is to unbundle it from its current structure.

He said: “On the State Police bill that is before the parliament, we are thinking about the response time of policing in Nigeria which at the moment is below the global standard. The only way we can achieve this is if we unbundle it from the way it is centralized like what other countries are doing: Municipal police, State Police. And just the constitution is clear on what is on the concurrent and exclusive lists.

“Certain subject matters will now be handled by the State Police and Federal Police respectively if we set it up and break it down the way Nigerians want it and that’s why we are calling for the national public hearing on Monday. Let’s have this conversation on issues like this to know whether you want it or not, or should it be tailored in one way or the other. There may be fears of hijacking it but we cannot because of that deny the majority of Nigerians the security of lives and property that we promised them as a government.

“So, we should be looking at the bigger picture. Everyone in Nigeria may not be a politician but everyone needs security of lives and property. So, we are saying which one should we go for? The greater good or the fear of the minor threat? . I think we should go for the greater good so that the good in the majority will suppress the threat in the minority.”

Kalu said Nigerians demonstrated rare patriotism and resilience by standing with President Bola Tinubu in the wake of the fuel subsidy removal and other bold economic reforms, stressing that the difficult decisions were necessary to put the country on the path of sustainable growth.

He said the Nigerians in diaspora showed keen interest in the government’s reforms and in issues of representation.

“The engagement was to have an appraisal of what we are doing, bring them up to speed with what the government is doing in regards to reforms. How far the reforms have fared and where we are headed. You and I know that Nigeria needed this reform. There’s no two ways about it.

“We needed a leader with courage, a leader with boldness to be able to take the steps the President has taken. Some of us who are in the same administration with him, though we’re in the other arm of government, we are standing fully with him on this reform. Removing subsidy launched us into an era of seeing things the way they are, feeling the pain, and then adjusting so that we can enjoy better later on.

“And many may have hought we were going into recession and the rest of them. But we weathered the storm, and I want to thank Nigerians. As Nigerians, we are very resilient. And we were able to stand with him. Today, the dynamics have changed.”

The Deputy Speaker also commended the State governments for helping to diversify the economy, saying it will increase job creation and boost the economic well-being of the citizens.

He urged Nigerians to stay engaged, patient, and supportive of the reforms, while also participating actively in shaping policies such as the state police bill.

“Just imagine 36 States engaging in productive engagements, outings, whether it’s in agriculture, in production, and also rest of them, it will create more jobs, increase our wealth. And I think that is the intention of these reforms. I was happy when I saw the president saying in August that their target for revenue has been achieved for the year. It’s a step towards the right direction. It may not be so cozy, but it’s leading us where it’s supposed to lead us. And we needed a President with balls, a President with courage to do this. And we thank him for having the courage and Nigerians for supporting him to get this done the way it has been done.
We are looking forward to the benefits of these reforms, going forward.

“This is the time for everybody’s hands to be on deck. We cannot afford to be distracted. It is time to move Nigeria forward,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker also highlighted his role in shaping global discussions on digital trade during the Geneva Conference.

He revealed that Nigeria was among the eight countries represented on the WTO/IPU steering committee, which examined how to make digital trade an engine of inclusive growth.

Kalu argued that for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to succeed, digital trade must be embedded as a central pillar.

“Digital trade is taking the day across the world at the moment, increasing economic growth by about 25 percent,” he said. “We must fit into this space, both globally and as a continent.

“Our argument was that there should be a legislative tracking tool that would enable countries to measure how far they have gone with implementing laws on digital trade and compare progress. Sub-regional and continental bodies like ECOWAS, the Pan-African Parliament, and the IPU should take this up,” he explained.

He further disclosed that Nigeria and other African delegations pressed for Afrocentric issues to feature prominently at the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) scheduled for Yaoundé in March 2026.

“As we talk about multilateralism, Africans and their problems must be on the table, not outside the room,” he emphasized.

Kalu also pushed for the passage of a bill reserving seats for women in Parliament, stressing that the exclusion of women from politics was holding back Nigeria’s democratic and economic progress.

“You cannot talk about advancing democracy when you’re leaving 50 percent of the population outside the room. It makes policies one-sided,” he said.

He pointed out that issues such as child rights, women’s rights, and humanitarian concerns often carry more depth when driven by women lawmakers.

“This is not compensation for women. It is an economic necessity. McKinsey and the World Bank have shown that countries with more women in decision-making grow faster. A country standing on one leg, relying on one gender, will lag economically,” he said.

Kalu explained that he and 12 other lawmakers had sponsored the bill and that advocacy efforts had begun early in this Assembly, with members increasingly supportive.

On the clamouring for diaspora voting, the Deputy Speaker reiterated his long-standing support but cautioned that Nigeria must first strengthen its local electoral system.

“Rome was not built in a day. It will happen, but we must first put our house in order. If Nigerians say during constitutional amendment hearings that they want it, we will look at the possibility,” he explained.

Kalu also shed light on his intervention in the crisis involving local contractors, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, who threatened strike action over unpaid fees.

He said the approach of “legislative diplomacy” helped to calm tensions and secure commitments from government agencies.

“Though we are three arms of government, we are one government. The objective of the President is our objective too. We will not allow the executive to fail and then stand aside. That is not how to drive an emerging democracy,” he said.

He recalled that the meetings with the Ministers of Finance and Budget, Wale Edun, the Accountant General of the federation, Shamsudeen Ogunjimi and other stakeholders at the instance of the Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, penultimate week led to significant progress as payments have been made.

“We took the contractors off the streets. They kept their word not to return to protest, and government has kept its word by paying. We will review the situation again on the 21st to ensure progress continues,” Kalu said.

On the FCT-specific waste management issue, Kalu promised to personally engage the Minister of the FCT to avert any strike. “The FCT has no House of Assembly. We are their Assembly. We will not allow services to collapse,” he said.

Kalu emphasized that while he remains engaged globally, having been invited by Harvard and MIT for future discussions, his priority will always be Nigeria.

“My WTO program was still on, but duty called, and Nigeria comes first before the globe,” he declared.