The Senate has given the six remaining State Houses of Assembly until November 15 to communicate their positions on the State Police Bill, paving the way for its transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
The decision followed an update by Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Leader, during plenary on Wednesday, in which he disclosed that 30 state legislatures had so far approved the proposed constitutional amendment.
Bamidele said the number had surpassed the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of the 36 states, representing 24 states, needed for the bill to scale the legislative hurdle.
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Among the states that have approved the proposal are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Imo, Gombe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, among others.
The states that are yet to transmit their State Police bills are : Kano, Oyo, Cross River, Abia, Niger and Benue
He said the level of support recorded across the states demonstrated the widespread acceptance of the proposed establishment of state police.
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However, Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, urged lawmakers to allow the six outstanding states additional time to consider and communicate their decisions.
Akpabio said any State House of Assembly that failed to respond by November 15 would be deemed to have withheld its approval.
The Senate unanimously adopted the position, setting November 15, as the final deadline for the outstanding state legislatures.
