By George Ozalla
The National Assembly has transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to the Houses of Assembly of the 36 states for consideration and approval.
The transmission, carried out on Wednesday, September 16, by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, marks the next stage of the constitutional alteration process after the National Assembly had considered and passed the relevant proposal.
Ogunlana said the transmission was undertaken on the directive of the leadership of the National Assembly and in accordance with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The State Houses of Assembly have been asked to subject the bill to the required legislative consideration in line with their respective procedures and communicate their resolutions to the National Assembly after completing their deliberations.
The move is significant because constitutional alteration follows a different procedure from the passage of an ordinary bill. Under Section 9 of the Constitution, an alteration proposal must secure the support of at least two-thirds of the State Houses of Assembly before the National Assembly can complete the constitutional process.
With 36 states in the federation, the requirement means that at least 24 State Houses of Assembly must approve the relevant proposal.
The Clerk also explained that the National Assembly expects the state legislatures to communicate their decisions within 30 days of receiving the bill. He, however, made it clear that the 30-day period is not a constitutional deadline.
According to him, the timeframe was set as an administrative measure to facilitate an orderly and coordinated conclusion of the exercise.
The State Houses of Assembly are therefore expected to consider the bill independently and communicate their resolutions to the National Assembly. The federal legislature has also stressed that the transmission does not seek to dictate the position the state legislatures should take.
The development comes as the 10th National Assembly advances the latest effort to alter parts of the 1999 Constitution. The wider constitutional review has covered several areas of governance, including electoral reforms, judicial reforms, security and policing, local government administration, inclusive governance and citizenship, the legislature, devolution of powers, human rights, fiscal reforms, strengthening of institutions, traditional institutions and the creation of states and local governments.
One of the most prominent proposals in the current exercise is the constitutional alteration providing for the establishment of state police.
The proposal seeks to change the present constitutional arrangement under which the Nigeria Police Force is established as the country’s police force. The proposed framework would provide for both Federal Police and State Police, with the National Assembly expected to establish the legal framework and minimum standards governing the Federal Police and State Police.
Under the proposed arrangement, a state would have to establish its police service through legislation passed by its House of Assembly before the force could commence operations. The proposal also provides for minimum standards and certification before a state police service becomes operational.
The proposed changes further provide for the continued existence of the Federal Police and define circumstances under which federal policing authorities may intervene in a state where a state police service is unable to handle a serious breakdown of law and order.
The proposed framework also addresses the appointment and command of the police. It provides for an Inspector-General of Police for the Federal Police and a Commissioner of Police for a State Police Service, with provisions relating to their appointments, confirmation, command and oversight.
The state police proposal has its origin in the long-running debate over the centralised structure of policing in Nigeria. The issue received fresh attention during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, particularly amid calls for a more decentralised security system. President Tinubu subsequently transmitted an executive version of the State Police constitutional alteration proposal to the National Assembly, following which the Senate and House of Representatives considered the proposal as part of the current constitutional amendment process.
The House of Representatives had earlier passed its own State Police constitutional alteration proposal before the President’s version was transmitted. Following consideration of the executive proposal, the House proceeded with the version transmitted by the President, while the Senate also passed the proposal, paving the way for the present stage involving the State Houses of Assembly.
The State Police proposal specifically seeks to alter Section 214 of the Constitution, which establishes the Nigeria Police Force, and Section 215, which deals with the appointment and control of the police. The bill also contains consequential amendments to other provisions needed to accommodate the establishment, administration and oversight of State Police Services.
The wider Sixth Alteration exercise contains proposals touching several other provisions of the Constitution, depending on the particular amendment under consideration. The State Police proposal is therefore one component of a broader constitutional alteration process now before the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
After receiving the resolutions of the state legislatures, the National Assembly is expected to take the next constitutional steps required to complete the alteration process in accordance with Section 9 of the Constitution.
