The push to establish state police in Nigeria has moved closer to the finish line, with the Senate setting a November 15 deadline for the six outstanding State Houses of Assembly to decide on the proposed constitutional amendment.
The deadline followed an update by Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, during Wednesday’s plenary, confirming that 30 state assemblies had already approved the bill.
The number exceeds the constitutional requirement of 24 states, representing two-thirds of the 36 state legislatures, for the amendment to advance.
The approving states include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Imo, Gombe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, among others.
Bamidele said the level of support demonstrated the broad acceptance of the proposed legislation among state legislatures.
However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged the chamber to allow the remaining six assemblies additional time to communicate their positions.
The Senate consequently fixed November 15 as the final date for their responses, warning that any state assembly that fails to act before the deadline would be regarded as having withheld its approval.
The decision was unanimously adopted by the Senate, paving the way for the next stage of the constitutional amendment process and its eventual transmission to the President for assent.
