Reps Approve State Police Constitution Amendment

The House of Representatives has passed the Executive Bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to establish state police, paving the way for its transmission to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.

The bill, transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, was approved after the House adopted a special voting procedure that allowed members to vote electronically.

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, who presided over plenary, announced that 311 lawmakers participated in the exercise, comprising 211 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), 65 opposition lawmakers and 35 other members who voted electronically.

The House had earlier resolved to adopt temporary measures under its Standing Orders to facilitate electronic voting, citing the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds majority to alter the Constitution.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the bills, the Chairman of the Constitution review committee and the deputy speaker of the House , Dr Benjamin Kalu explained that the proposed legislation seeks to amend the Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police services as part of efforts to strengthen internal security and decentralise policing across the federation.

Oduyemi Odumade