By Abbanobi-Eku Onyeka
Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has received The Sun Senator of the Year Award for efficiently managing the business of the parliament and for his proactive approach to lawmaking since the inauguration of the Senate in June 2023.
Bamidele said the award was not a personal trophy but a validation of collective responsibility, dedicating it to Almighty God, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the 108 other senators and his constituents who entrusted him with their mandates.
He received the award on Friday night from the Founder of The Sun Publishing Limited and Chairman of the South East Development Commission, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, in the company of serving senators, governors, former governors and political associates from Ekiti and Lagos States.
Among those who accompanied him were former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Senator Gbenga Daniel, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, Senator Patrick Ndubueze and Senator Francis Onyewuchi.
Thanking The Sun Publishing Limited, Bamidele said the National Assembly should be judged not by the volume of bills passed, but by the impact of its initiatives on the lives of the people, stressing that Nigeria must move from reactive governance to proactive governance driven by evidence-based laws.
He said the principle of proactive lawmaking guided the National Assembly to pass the State Police (Constitution Alteration) Bill, 2026, which proposes a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, after more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to reform the country’s police system.
Bamidele disclosed that no fewer than 32 State Houses of Assembly have approved the Bill, thereby crossing the constitutional threshold under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), while four others are expected to submit their reports before the National Assembly reconvenes on November 17, 2026.
He said whether or not the remaining states submit their reports, the National Assembly is under obligation to transmit the Bill to President Tinubu for assent next week, in the interest of national peace, progress and stability.
Contrary to critics, Bamidele clarified that the initiative is not designed to create ethnic or state armies, but to establish state-led, community-anchored policing within clear constitutional safeguards, alongside other people-centred laws like the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, through which NELFUND has disbursed over ₦204 billion to applicants across 89 colleges, 108 polytechnics and 126 universities.
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 and Regional Development Commissions Acts as part of the parliament’s achievements, while raising vital questions on the irresponsible use of social media, warning that character assassination, blackmail and deliberate distortion of facts cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.
