• Says only state police bill transmitted to states
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The leadership of the National Assembly, has said other constitution bills being amended were still awaiting passage by the National Assembly before sending to the state Houses of Assembly.
It, however, clarified that only the Constitution alteration bill seeking to establish State Police Services has so far been transmitted to the 36 state assemblies for consideration and approval.
The clarification followed reports and public perceptions suggesting that all the Constitution alteration bills currently before the National Assembly had been forwarded to the state legislatures.
In a statement by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, yesterday, the National Assembly said th e only bill transmitted to the states was the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeking to provide for the establishment of State Police Services and related matters.
Ogunlana recalled that the National Assembly had, on September 16, 2026, informed the public that the State Police Bill had been transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is only this particular Constitution Alteration Bill that has so far been transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly,” the Clerk stated.
He stressed that it was therefore incorrect to suggest or create the impression that all the Constitution Alteration Bills before the National Assembly had been transmitted to the states.
According to him, the decision to accord priority to the State Police Bill was in response to widespread public demands and concerns over security and policing in the country.
He explained that the initiative was aimed at addressing those concerns through an appropriate constitutional and legal framework.
The Clerk further disclosed that the other Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bills before the National Assembly would be transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly after they had been passed in identical form by both chambers of the federal legislature, in accordance with the constitutional amendment process.
“The National Assembly remains committed to ensuring that the ongoing Constitution Alteration process is conducted transparently, responsibly and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Ogunlana said.
He urged members of the public and the media to rely on official communications from the National Assembly for accurate information concerning the status and transmission of the various Constitution Alteration Bills.
The clarification came barely a week after the National Assembly announced the transmission of the State Police Bill to the 36 state legislatures, marking a significant stage in the constitutional process for the proposed policing arrangement.
The proposed State Police framework is being considered against the backdrop of widespread security concerns across the country and calls for a constitutional framework that would allow states to establish and operate their own police services.
Under the constitutional amendment procedure, a proposed alteration must go through the prescribed legislative process at the federal and state levels before it can become part of the nation’s supreme law.