The Senate has given the six state Houses of Assembly yet to communicate their positions on the proposed establishment of state police until 15 November, warning that failure to respond by the deadline will be regarded as withholding their approval.
The decision followed an update by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, during Wednesday’s plenary, in which he disclosed that 30 of the 36 state assemblies had approved the proposed constitutional amendment to pave the way for the establishment of state police.
Although the 30 approvals have surpassed the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of 24 state assemblies, Senate President Godswill Akpabio appealed for additional time to allow the remaining six assemblies to communicate their positions.
Akpabio warned that any state assembly that failed to respond by 15 November would be deemed to have withheld its approval.
The six states yet to communicate their positions were not identified in the update.
Bamidele said the number of approvals had exceeded the constitutional threshold, which requires at least 24 of the 36 state assemblies to endorse the proposed amendment.
He explained that the constitutional amendment process involved three stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly and presidential assent.
The development marks a significant step towards the proposed establishment of state police, which would require the necessary constitutional amendments before becoming operational.
Dear readers, we really need your support to keep on serving you with authoritative, truthful, and juicy stories everyday. For your support, please reach out to the editor @gavelinternational66@gmail.com
