National Assembly Sends State Police Bill to Tinubu

The National Assembly has transmitted a constitution amendment bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent, seeking to establish state police services after receiving approvals from 30 state houses of assembly. This development was announced during a plenary session on November 4, where Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau (Kano North) read a notice from Kamoru Ogunlana, the clerk to the National Assembly.

As of November 3, 29 state assemblies had approved the bill, and Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), the Senate Leader, later confirmed that 30 states had given their approval, surpassing the constitutional requirement of two-thirds, which is 24 states. The amendment process involves three stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval from at least two-thirds of state assemblies, and presidential assent.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North) stated that any state assembly failing to respond by November 15 would be deemed to have withheld approval. The bill aims to decentralize policing in Nigeria and requires presidential assent to be enacted.