Lawmakers to vote on constitutional amendment June 23 as leadership pushes for two-thirds majority
The Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, for an emergency plenary session to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill seeking the creation of State Police, after a quorum shortfall stalled the process before the recent recess.
The emergency sitting, scheduled for 11:00 a.m., was convened by Senate President Godswill Akpabio through a memo issued June 15 by the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Emmanuel Odo. The memo said the session would address matters of “urgent national importance, particularly national security and other pressing concerns requiring immediate legislative intervention.”
A principal officer of the Senate confirmed to _THISDAY_ in Abuja that the proposed amendment could not be passed penultimate week because the chamber failed to muster the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of the 109 senators needed for constitutional amendments.
“We will surely reconvene on Tuesday to pass the bill on State Police. We did not form the quorum, which is the two-thirds majority of the 109 senators required by the Constitution,” the source said. “The leadership has spoken with members and there is optimism that the required number will be present.”
The Senate leadership has intensified consultations across party lines to ensure full attendance at Tuesday’s sitting.
The State Police Bill has already been passed by the House of Representatives penultimate week. It ranks among the most consequential constitutional reforms before the National Assembly in recent years.
Advocates argue that decentralising policing powers will improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community-based security operations, and enable states to respond faster to banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and communal violence.
Nigeria currently operates a centralised policing system under the Federal Government through the Nigeria Police Force. Critics of the bill, however, warn of possible political abuse by state governors.
