NIGERIA: Senate Gives Six States November 15 Deadline on State Police Bill

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 on the constitutional amendment.

The Senate warned that any state assembly that fails to respond before the deadline would be regarded as having withheld its approval of the proposed legislation.

The decision followed an update by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, during Wednesday's plenary, where he disclosed that 30 of Nigeria's 36 state assemblies had approved the proposed amendment.

Although the number of approvals has exceeded the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of 24 states, Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for an extension to allow the remaining six assemblies to make their positions known.

Akpabio urged the lawmakers to give the outstanding states additional time, proposing November 15 as the final deadline.

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

The Senate unanimously adopted the proposal.

Earlier, Bamidele listed the 30 states whose assemblies had approved the bill. They include 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.

Explaining the constitutional process, the Senate Leader said the amendment required approval from the National Assembly, endorsement by at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly and presidential assent before it could become law.

He noted that the National Assembly had completed its part of the process, while the required number of state assemblies had also approved the proposal.

The proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to allow state governments to establish and manage their own police services.

The initiative is part of efforts to decentralise Nigeria's policing structure and strengthen security responses at the state and community levels.

Supporters of the proposal believe state police would improve security coordination and enable authorities to respond more effectively to local threats.

With 30 state assemblies already approving the amendment, the Senate's extension is aimed at giving the remaining six states an opportunity to complete their legislative processes before the proposal proceeds to the final stage of presidential assent.