NEWS
House of Reps Set June 11 for Crucial Vote on State Police Constitutional Amendment
The House of Representatives has fixed Thursday, June 11, for a decisive vote on a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish State Police across Nigeria, in what is being described as one of the most significant security-focused legislative moves in recent times.
The announcement was made on Wednesday in Abuja by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Benjamin Kalu, who urged all lawmakers to be present for the plenary session and actively participate in the voting process.
According to him, the proposed amendment has been prioritised ahead of other legislative considerations due to the urgent need to address the country’s worsening security challenges. He further directed lawmakers currently engaged in oversight duties outside Abuja to suspend such assignments and return to the National Assembly for the historic vote.
The State Police bill, which is jointly sponsored by the Deputy Speaker alongside 14 other members of the House, is widely seen as a key step toward decentralising policing powers and strengthening internal security structures at the sub-national level.
This development comes amid growing national discourse on security reforms, with the Presidency recently indicating strong momentum toward the creation of State Police. Last Thursday, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, confirmed that significant progress had already been made on the initiative.
Speaking after a consultative meeting on the proposed framework at the State House, Abuja, Gbajabiamila noted that discussions had been ongoing for several months following a directive from President Tinubu. He explained that the process had now advanced to the stage of considering the necessary constitutional amendments required for implementation.
As the National Assembly prepares for the vote, attention now turns to the outcome of Thursday’s plenary, which could mark a turning point in Nigeria’s policing structure and broader security architecture.