State police: Senate gives six assemblies November 15 deadline

File Photo: Nigerian Senate

The Senate has given the six state Houses of Assembly yet to approve the proposed establishment of state police until November 15 to communicate their positions, warning that failure to respond by the deadline would be treated as withholding their approval.

The decision followed an update by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, during plenary on Wednesday, indicating that 30 of the 36 state assemblies had approved the proposed constitutional amendment.

Although the 30 approvals have exceeded the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of 24 state assemblies, Senate President Godswill Akpabio appealed for more time to enable the remaining six assemblies to make their positions known.

Akpabio said any assembly that failed to respond by the November 15 deadline would be deemed to have withheld its approval.

“They should be given more time. Let’s give them till November 15 to respond,” he said.

The Senate unanimously supported his appeal.

Earlier, Bamidele read out the names of the 30 state assemblies that had approved the bill.

They 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 had surpassed the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, representing 24 states.

The Senate Leader explained that the amendment process involved three stages: passage by the national assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of state assemblies, and presidential assent.

He said, “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.”

The proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police services, a major security reform designed to decentralise policing and allow state governments to establish and manage their own police structures.

The proposal is expected to address longstanding concerns about the limitations of the centralised policing system, particularly in tackling insecurity across the country’s diverse communities.

The constitutional amendment process requires approval by at least two-thirds of the state assemblies before the bill can be presented to the President for assent.

With 30 assemblies already on board, the Senate’s decision to extend the deadline is intended to allow the remaining six states to complete the process before the amendment is transmitted for presidential consideration.