The Senate has given six state Houses of Assembly yet to approve the establishment of state police until November 15 to communicate their positions, warning that failure to respond would be treated as withholding their approval.
The deadline followed confirmation that 30 of the 36 state assemblies had approved the proposed constitutional amendment, exceeding the two-thirds majority required to advance the process.
The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed the development during plenary on Wednesday, listing the 30 assemblies that had endorsed the proposal.
However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio appealed for more time to allow the remaining six assemblies to make their positions known.
“They should be given more time. Let’s give them till November 15 to respond,” Akpabio said.
The Senate unanimously supported the extension, with the President of the Senate warning that any assembly that failed to respond by the deadline would be deemed to have withheld its approval.
The 30 assemblies that have approved the proposal 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.
State police: 28 assemblies approve bill as Tinubu’s assent looms
Bamidele said the approvals had surpassed the constitutional requirement of 24 state assemblies out of the 36 states.
He explained that the constitutional amendment process involves three stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of state assemblies 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 proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to allow states to establish and manage their own police services, decentralising the country’s policing structure.
The proposal is expected to give state governments greater control over security operations and address concerns about the limitations of the centralised policing system.
Once the state-level approval process is concluded, the amendment will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
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