Barring any twists, the Senate expects to pass the proposed further amendments to the 1999 Constitution by the last week of July, according to the latest information disclosed to Tribune Online.Contents
Findings on Sunday indicated that, with the Electoral Act 2026 and the primaries of political parties for the 2027 polls having been put to rest, the attention of lawmakers in the National Assembly would focus on the constitution from now to the start of the 2026 legislative recess in July.
However, the most immediate among the proposals is the amendment seeking to create state police, owing to the urgency by government at the three tiers to find a realistic answer to the insecurity ravaging the country.
Our correspondent gathered that high-level meetings involving the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Presidency, and major security sector stakeholders in the last few days had devoted time ex-raying state police with a view to adopting the most implementable framework for the 36 states, the FCT and the Federal Government.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, confirmed to Tribune Online that the bill on state police would receive almost immediate passage within days from now if all the stakeholders fine-tuned and agreed on the framework for implementation across the federation.
He explained, “There is going to be a framework, which we want to be very smooth, to have an understanding between the Legislature and the Executive on state police, the law, the funding and every other thing.
“We don’t want to go back and forth on it. We want to bring it to the National Assembly once and for all like we did with the tax laws…we have to allay the fears of a few people about state police as well.
“Now, we have gotten to the height of everything, and there will be no more delay.”
Regarding other amendments/bills, Senator Adaramodu disclosed that the legislature had long concluded work on them, including holding zonal public hearings and harmonising reports on them for clause-by-clause consideration on the floor.
He said all the amendments would be passed before the commencement of the legislative recess next month (July).
“We are now expecting that before we close for the legislative year, all those bills will be considered and passed between July and early August,” the senator stated.
“We are not going to allow any of those amendments to roll over to the 11th Assembly because all the ideas are babies of the 10th Assembly, and it is the assembly that will pass them for Nigerians to behold.”
Asked why the constitution review had taken so long after the two chambers harmonised their reports in late 2025, Adaramodu attributed the delay to the demand to complete work on the Electoral Act, 2026, ahead of the just-concluded primaries of the political parties for the 2027 elections.
He further explained that at a point between March and when the primaries were concluded on May 31, lawmakers had to slow down on legislative business to visit their constituencies and canvass support for their re-election bid.
“You know the only platforms for us to come to the National Assembly are the political parties. There is no independent candidacy. And already, INEC had scheduled primaries between April and May.
“All of us must subscribe to the timetable. That’s why we had to fall back to go and have our primary elections,” he told Tribune Online.
“Now, we are fully back in the chambers, both in the Senate and at the House of Representatives. So, all those areas we need to touch in the constitution for review, especially state police, role of traditional rulers, women matters, people living with disabilities, and others, we are going to touch them before we leave for the legislative recess in July.”
The lawmaker emphasised the urgency of state police, describing it as “seriously on the burner because of the sporadic attacks by bandits, insurgents and kidnappers.”
Section 9(2) of the Constitution specifies the procedure for amendment, requiring a bill to pass with at least a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
This means a report on any amendment bill must secure the votes of at least 240 members (out of 360) in the House of Representatives and 72 (out of 109) senators.
Once the National Assembly has passed it, the report is forwarded to the State Houses of Assembly, where at least two-thirds of states (24 out of 36) must approve it.
Sources informed this newspaper that considering the fact that state governors control the legislature in their respective states, the extensive discussions on framework and structure, especially on state police, are not out of place in a bid to secure their full backing.
After the approval of the bill by the state assemblies, the bill returns to the National Assembly for adoption before presidential assent or withholding of assent.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune