NASS nears transmission of State Police Bill for Tinubu’s assent

The National Assembly is close to transmission of the proposed State Police Bill to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent.

It said it has commenced “administrative processes” for the transmission after receiving reports of the Bill’s approval by 28 State Houses of Assembly across the country.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said the number of State Assemblies that had approved the constitutional amendment exceeded the constitutionally prescribed threshold of 24 states.

On the next stage of the process, the Clerk said the necessary administrative arrangements were being made to facilitate the transmission of the bill to President Tinubu for assent in accordance with the Acts Authentication Act, CAP A2, (LEN) 2004.

“In view of the approvals secured from the required number of State Houses of Assembly, the necessary administrative processes are being undertaken to facilitate the transmission of the Bill to His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for assent,” the statement added.

The bill, which seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of State Police Services and related matters, was transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly on September 16, 2026 for consideration and approval.

The statement explained that the state legislatures were initially requested to communicate their decisions to the National Assembly within 30 days with the deadline expiring on October 15, 2026.

However, the Clerk clarified that his office would continue to receive reports from state assemblies beyond the deadline until the bill was transmitted for presidential assent.

He said the Office of the Clerk had received and verified reports from 28 state legislatures, confirming that they had approved the proposed constitutional amendment.

The statement further disclosed that the Office of the Clerk had conducted administrative verification of the reports and accompanying Votes and Proceedings to establish their authenticity and ensure that they accurately reflected the decisions of the respective state legislatures.

Ogunlana also clarified the legislative procedure for constitutional alteration bills, noting that Section 9 of the Constitution does not expressly require a Third Reading unlike the procedure applicable to ordinary bills.

The proposed amendment is expected to provide the constitutional framework for the establishment of state police services, allowing individual states to operate police formations within their jurisdictions under the provisions of the amended Constitution.

The National Assembly said the approval process reflected the cooperation of the state legislatures in considering the constitutional amendment.