Police bill: Senate sets Nov 15 deadline for 6 states

The Senate has issued a November 15 deadline to six state assemblies yet to submit their positions on the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, warning that a failure to respond could be treated as withholding consent.

The affected states are Kano, Benue, Niger, Abia, Oyo and Cross Rivers.

However, during plenary session on Wednesday, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau clarified that the Kano State House of Assembly had formally passed the bill and was in the process of transmitting its resolution to the National Assembly leadership.

The ultimatum was announced during the Wednesday plenary by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, following a status update on nationwide consultations over the legislation.

Despite the delay from a handful of state legislatures, the proposed constitutional amendment has already surpassed the mandatory legal threshold required for constitutional alterations.

Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), approval from at least two-thirds (24 out of 36) of the State Houses of Assembly is required before a constitutional amendment can proceed to the executive branch.

According to Senator Bamidele, 30 state assemblies have officially voted in favour of the bill.

He listed the states as 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.

“We needed the approval of at least two-thirds of the states for this constitutional amendment to proceed. Two-thirds of 36 states is 24, and we have already secured approval from 30 states,” Bamidele told lawmakers.

With the November 15 deadline now set, the National Assembly plans to compile all state responses and transmit the approved State Police amendment to President Tinubu for final assent shortly thereafter.

Our correspondent reports that at the resumption of Wednesday’s plenary session, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, had earlier read a letter from the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, stating that the bill would be officially transmitted to President Tinubu for his assent later in the day.