A total of 289 lawmakers voted in support of the bill during consideration at the Committee of the Whole, while one member abstained.
...as bill scales through second reading in Senate
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police and place funding for the Armed Forces on the first-line charge of the Federation Account.
A total of 289 lawmakers voted in support of the bill during consideration at the Committee of the Whole, while one member abstained.
Leading the debate, Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, said the proposal would strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture and improve the country’s response to insecurity.
“We want to give wheels to this solution that we think, and Nigerians think, there’s a national consensus on it,” Kalu said.
He argued that state police would reduce delays in responding to crime, noting that, “State police will make response time to incidents of crime shorter than it has always been.”
According to him, the current centralised policing structure makes it difficult to obtain timely authorisation and intervention.
“But with state police, we are going to get our brothers to be able to monitor what is around us, people who understand the language, people who understand the geography, the culture, the religion, people who know us, protecting us,” he added.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announced that the bill secured the constitutional requirement of at least 240 votes, with 289 members voting in support.
The legislation, which also seeks to place military funding on the first-line charge to ensure adequate and timely financing of defence operations, was subsequently passed for third reading.
It will now be transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly, where approval by at least two-thirds of the assemblies is required before it is forwarded to the President for assent.
Similarly, the bill to alter the Constitution for creation of state police scaled through second reading in the Senate.
Sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, the bill was referred to the Constitution Amendment Committee led by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin for further legislative action.
The two chambers thereafter adjourned plenary until July 7, 2026, and proceeded on a two-week recess to mark the end of its third legislative year.