Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele says at least 30 states have approved the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, with December 2026 as the target for the National Assembly to complete the remaining legislative processes.

Mr Bamidele said this on Thursday while delivering a lecture to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau.

The lecture, titled “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking,” examined the role of legislation in strengthening public governance and addressing Nigeria’s development challenges.

Mr Bamidele, also the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the constitutional threshold required for the state police amendment had been met.

He explained that Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, requires the concurrence of at least two-thirds of State Houses of Assembly for constitutional alteration.

According to him, the National Assembly has received formal reports from state assemblies, with at least 30 states approving the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.

“The constitutional requirement for the alteration has been duly met,” Mr Bamidele said. “This is a historic milestone in our collective quest to re-engineer our security architecture and make it more responsive, more local, and more effective.”

Mr Bamidele said the next stage requires the National Assembly to collate the reports, consider the positions of the state legislatures, and pass a resolution by a simple majority in both chambers.

He added that the proposed amendment would then be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent after the legislative requirements are completed.

The Senate leader said the National Assembly intends to conclude the remaining legislative stages, including consideration of reports and transmission for presidential assent, by December 2026.

He described the development as a significant step towards ending more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to establish state police through constitutional amendment.

Mr Bamidele said the proposed reform would enable Nigeria to develop a policing system better equipped to understand local terrain, communicate in local languages, and respond to community-specific security challenges.

He, however, emphasised that state police would not create state armies or weaken the federal government but establish community-oriented policing within constitutional safeguards, operational standards, oversight mechanisms, and human rights protections.

According to him, the 10th National Assembly, under Senate President Godswill Akpabio, remains committed to completing the process to improve security across the country.

(NAN)