The National Assembly has officially confirmed that 28 State Houses of Assembly have approved the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, more than two weeks after Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, announced that 24 states had endorsed the bill.
The confirmation, contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Kamoru Ogunlana, the Clerk to the National Assembly, provides an official figure following weeks of conflicting announcements by senior government and legislative officials, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who both subsequently put the number of approving states at 30.
Ogunlana said the Office of the Clerk had received and verified reports from 28 State Houses of Assembly indicating their approval of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide for the establishment of State Police Services and related matters.
He said, ‘Following the receipt and verification of the reports, the Office confirms that 28 State Houses of Assembly have approved the Bill.
‘This represents more than the constitutionally prescribed threshold of not less than two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, equivalent to 24 States, as required under Section 9 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.’
The official confirmation comes after more than two weeks of uncertainty over the actual number of state legislatures that had approved the proposed amendment.
Gbajabiamila had, on October 23, announced that 24 State Houses of Assembly had approved the bill, saying the figure had satisfied the constitutional requirement for the amendment process to proceed.
However, subsequent announcements by Akpabio and Bamidele raised the figure to 30 states, even as the National Assembly had yet to issue an official consolidated account of the approvals.
Akpabio, on October 28, said about 30 state legislatures had endorsed the proposed amendment while receiving members of the Arewa Revival Project, a northern youth organisation, at his office in Abuja.
The Senate President expressed optimism that the establishment of state police was close to becoming a reality, saying Nigeria could adopt a decentralised policing system within weeks.
‘As I speak with you now, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, it may not take us a month before we have a state police system – decentralised policing in the country – because about 30 states have endorsed the amendment to the Nigerian Constitution,’ Akpabio said.
Similarly, Bamidele, on October 29, announced that no fewer than 30 state legislatures had approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.
Bamidele, who is also Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, made the disclosure while delivering a lecture titled, ‘Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking,’ to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State.
‘We are pleased to inform our constituents across the federation that state police have moved from rhetoric to reality.
‘We have already received formal reports from the State Houses of Assembly and, as of today, no fewer than 30 states have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026,’ he said.
Bamidele also said the National Assembly intended to complete the remaining legislative stages and transmit the amendment to President Bola Tinubu for assent on or before December 2026.
The Clerk’s statement, however, puts the number of verified approvals at 28, two fewer than the figures publicly announced by Akpabio and Bamidele.
Explaining the timeline of the amendment process, Ogunlana said the bill was transmitted by the Clerk to the 36 State Houses of Assembly on September 16, 2026, with a request that their decisions be communicated to the National Assembly within 30 days.
Although the stipulated period elapsed on October 15, he said the National Assembly would continue to receive reports from state legislatures until the bill was transmitted for presidential assent.
‘The stipulated period elapsed on 15 October 2026, but my Office shall continue to accept reports from the State Houses of Assembly until the Bill is transmitted for assent,’ he said.
He added that the Office had undertaken administrative verification of the reports and accompanying Votes and Proceedings to establish their authenticity and ensure that they accurately reflected decisions taken by the respective state legislatures.
‘The Office has also undertaken the necessary administrative verification of the reports and accompanying Votes and Proceedings to establish their authenticity and ensure that the records accurately reflect the decisions taken by the respective State Houses of Assembly,’ Ogunlana said.
The Clerk also clarified the constitutional procedure applicable to the amendment, noting that Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution does not expressly prescribe a third reading for a Constitution Alteration Bill, unlike the procedure applicable to ordinary bills.
‘It is pertinent to clarify that Section 9 of the Constitution does not expressly prescribe a Third Reading for a Constitution Alteration Bill, unlike the procedure applicable to ordinary Bills,’ he said.
With 28 state approvals confirmed, the proposed amendment has crossed the constitutional threshold of 24 state legislatures required for the alteration of the Constitution.
Ogunlana said the necessary administrative processes were already underway to facilitate the transmission of the bill to President Tinubu for assent.
‘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, in accordance with the Acts Authentication Act, CAP A2, (LFN) 2004,’ he said.
He commended the state legislatures for their cooperation, describing the approvals as a significant step in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture and deepen its federal system.
The proposed amendment is expected to provide the constitutional framework for the establishment of state police services alongside the existing federal policing structure, amid persistent security challenges, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and communal violence across the country.