By Desire Emmanuel
The House of Representatives on Thursday, June 11, passed the state police bill and one of the major features of the bill is the power vested on governors to appoint Commissioners of Police in their respective states.
This resolution passed by the lower chamber of the National Assembly followed the voting on the floor during the plenary session presided over by the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas.
According to Abbas, 288 lawmakers voted in support of the bill, while four were against it and the lawmakers voted on the bill by a show of hands as the speaker explained that the electronic voting system is not functional.
The bill seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture by creating an additional layer of policing while providing constitutional safeguards, clearly defined operational frameworks, oversight mechanisms, and delineation of powers between federal and state policing authorities.
Earlier on Thursday, the House of Representatives released the final print of the Constitution Alteration Bills seeking to provide a constitutional framework for the establishment of state police, among others.
The vote on state police comes amid rising insecurity in parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Senate also on Thursday passed the bill on the establishment of state police through second reading.
It deferred the debate to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review. During the plenary, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the lawmakers will vote on the bill during their next sitting.
