The Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), said 30 state Houses of Assembly have approved the Constitution Alteration Bill to establish State Police Services in Nigeria.
The bill is titled: “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the Establishment of State Police Services and for Related Matters.”
During Wednesday’s plenary in Abuja, Bamidele said the Adamawa State House of Assembly was among the most recent to approve the bill, bringing the total to 30.
He noted that this figure exceeds the constitutional requirement for amending the constitution.
He described this development as clear evidence of the bill’s popularity among Nigerians, as reflected by their elected representatives in the state assemblies.
“So far, we have received approval from 30 states, demonstrating the bill’s popularity among Nigerians through their representatives in the state assemblies.
We believe the remaining six states will respond to the National Assembly before the Nov. 15 deadline.
So far, this is a positive development for our democracy, as well as for the government and people of the Federation. We have already secured approval from more than two-thirds of the states required. I do not believe any state would want to be excluded from this significant development,” he said. ing development,” he said.
Explaining the process, the Senate Leader said the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria uses three key terms for constitutional alterations.
“The first word is passage, the second word is approval, and the third word is assent.
“The passage: The National Assembly is responsible for passing the bill, which has been completed. Approval must come from at least two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, and the President gives final assent to complete the process,” he said. The writers of the 1999 constitution provided for that rigorous process to ensure broad national consensus before any part of the constitution is altered.
According to him, with 30 state assemblies approving the bill, the two-thirds requirement of 24 states has been met and exceeded.
He listed the 30 states as Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, and Jigawa.
Others are Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara. The Senate Leader also clarified the timeline given to state assemblies to consider the bill.
“Let me clarify that the letter that was written on our behalf and signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly was conveyed to the 36 state houses of assembly on Oct. 15.
“In the letter, the Clerk indicated on our behalf that the state assemblies have until Nov. 15, providing a clear 30-day period to allow sufficient time to consider the bill.
“So, they still have until Nov. 15,” he said.
Bamidele saiBamidele explained that the timeline is intended to ensure the National Assembly transmits the bill to the President promptly. We have to do that, which we are also emphasising now, is to transmit the bill to Mr President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, anytime from Nov. 15.
We believe the remaining six states will take the necessary action within this period,” he said.
He added that after the Nov. 15 deadline, the National Assembly would transmit the bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent, in accordance with the provisions of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano), said the Kano State House of Assembly has approved the bill and is forwarding it to the National Assembly, assuring that it will be delivered soon.
The bill aims to decentralise policing in Nigeria by empowering states to establish their own police services to complement the Nigeria Police Force in addressing insecurity.
If the President assents to the bill, it will become law and enable the establishment of state police across the Federation.
