The Senate has given six State Houses of Assembly until November 15 to communicate their positions on the proposed establishment of State Police, warning that failure to respond could be interpreted as withholding approval for the constitutional amendment.
The affected states were initially listed as Benue, Oyo, Cross River, Niger, Abia and Kano. However, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau later informed the chamber that Kano had approved the proposal and was transmitting its resolution to the National Assembly.
30 States Approve Amendment
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele disclosed the development during Wednesday’s plenary while briefing lawmakers on consultations with the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
He said 30 state legislatures had approved the proposed amendment, exceeding the constitutional requirement of two-thirds, or 24 states, for the process to proceed.
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 explained that the constitutional amendment process involved three stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of the state legislatures and presidential assent.
He said the National Assembly had completed the passage stage, while the required number of state assemblies had already approved the proposal.
Akpabio Demands Definite Response Date
Senate President Godswill Akpabio asked Bamidele to give the outstanding assemblies a specific timeframe to communicate their decisions.
He said the Senate needed to establish whether the states supported or rejected the proposed constitutional alteration.
Akpabio described the proposed establishment of State Police as a significant constitutional development that required consultation across the country.
Bamidele subsequently explained that the Clerk to the National Assembly had written to all 36 state assemblies on October 15, giving them 30 days to consider the proposal and submit their resolutions.
He said the deadline was therefore fixed for November 15.
Failure to Respond May Count as Withholding Approval
Bamidele warned that any assembly that failed to communicate its position by the deadline could be deemed to have withheld approval, depending on the constitutional implications of its failure to respond.
He expressed confidence that the remaining assemblies would submit their decisions before the deadline.
He also said the National Assembly intended to transmit the proposed amendment to President Bola Tinubu for assent after the period had elapsed.
Meanwhile, Barau confirmed that Kano State had completed its approval process, explaining that the delay was in communicating the resolution to the National Assembly.
The proposed amendment is part of efforts to decentralise Nigeria’s policing structure by providing a constitutional framework for state-controlled police services.
The proposal comes amid growing concerns over insecurity and calls for state governments to have greater responsibility in addressing security challenges within their jurisdictions.
