National Assembly transmits State Police Amendment Bill to Tinubu as 30 states approve

The National Assembly has transmitted the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent after securing approval from 30 state houses of assembly.

The development was announced during Wednesday’s plenary after Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau read a notice from the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana.

According to the notice, the Clerk’s office had received approvals from 29 state assemblies as of the close of business on Tuesday, November 3, prompting the leadership of the National Assembly to direct its transmission to the President on Wednesday, November 4.

However, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele subsequently announced that 30 state assemblies had approved the proposed constitutional amendment.

The approving states are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Bamidele said the number of approvals exceeded the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, which translates to 24 states.

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He explained that the constitutional amendment process involved three stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of state houses of assembly and presidential assent.

“Passage of the bill was meant to be done by the national assembly, which was done, and approval is meant to be done by at least two-thirds of the 36 state houses of assembly in the country, and assent is to be given by the president to complete this process,” he said.

The Senate leader said the requirement was designed to ensure that constitutional amendments enjoyed the support of critical stakeholders across the different levels of government.

He described the development as a positive step for Nigeria’s democracy and governance.

Six States Yet to Communicate Position

Earlier, the Senate had extended the deadline for the six state assemblies yet to communicate their decisions on the bill to November 15.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio said any state assembly that failed to communicate its position by the deadline would be deemed to have withheld its approval.

The Senate unanimously adopted the resolution.

The proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police services, a major security reform aimed at decentralising policing, strengthening local security responses and addressing Nigeria’s evolving security challenges.

The bill’s transmission to the President marks a significant milestone in the long-standing debate over restructuring Nigeria’s policing architecture and the establishment of state-controlled police formations alongside the existing federal police system.