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…Allege Constitutional Breach, Reject House Procedure
ABUJA – The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police, despite the minority caucus of the House staging a walkout during consideration of the Constitution Alteration Bill establishing State Police Services.
The bill was approved during plenary after the House withdrew its earlier constitutional amendment proposal on the establishment of state police, opting instead to adopt the executive bill.
The passage also follows the Senate’s approval of its version of the legislation, bringing the country closer to adopting a dual policing system aimed at strengthening internal security and improving law enforcement at the state level.
The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives accused the leadership of the green chamber of breaching constitutional and parliamentary procedures in the passage of President Bola Tinubu’s State Police Bill, alleging that its formal request for a reconsideration of the proposed constitutional amendment was ignored despite being acknowledged by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, before plenary.
The lawmakers made the allegation while briefing journalists after staging a walkout during the House’s consideration of the Constitution Alteration Bill establishing State Police Services.
Speaking on behalf of the caucus, its Spokesperson, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene (NDC, Anambra), disclosed that the minority lawmakers had, on July 22, submitted a comprehensive memorandum to Speaker Abbas, urging the House to suspend the immediate adoption of the bill and recommit it for further legislative scrutiny.
The letter, titled ‘State Police: Nigeria Must Get it Right – Request for the Reconsideration of the State Police Constitutional Amendment Bill’, was formally acknowledged by the Office of the Speaker on July 23 before the House proceeded with consideration and passage of the constitutional amendment bill.
According to Ogene, the memorandum made it clear that the Minority Caucus supports the establishment of State Police but believes the proposed constitutional framework required further refinement before its adoption.
“We wish to state unequivocally that we support the principle of State Police. Nigeria’s security realities demand bold constitutional reforms that strengthen public safety, deepen federalism, improve community-based policing and enhance the protection of lives and property,” the caucus stated in the memorandum.
Describing the proposal as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to reshape Nigeria’s security architecture, the caucus nevertheless cautioned against enacting what it termed an incomplete constitutional framework.
“Our concern is therefore not against State Police; it is against adopting an incomplete constitutional framework,” the letter stated.
Ogene said the caucus had requested that the bill be recommitted for a limited, technically driven review involving constitutional experts, security practitioners, state governments, fiscal authorities and other relevant stakeholders to address constitutional, institutional, operational and fiscal concerns identified in the proposed legislation.
He, however, lamented that none of the recommendations contained in the memorandum was considered during plenary.
Maintaining that the constitution remains the supreme law upon which parliamentary procedures derive their legitimacy, Ogene said: “The constitution is the grand norm. It is the rule book upon which even our Standing Orders derive their strength and powers.”
According to him, the House leadership failed to properly determine the number of members present before proceeding with the constitutional amendment process.
“The way of determining members who are present in sitting is by our registers, and that is why those registers are there to be signed on each legislative day,” he stated.
Ogene also faulted the handling of constitutional objections raised during plenary.
“For Mr. Speaker, acting as Chairman in the Committee of the Whole, to disregard the provisions of the 1999 constitution is a great affront on the workings of the House of Representatives,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Minority Caucus had submitted a detailed compendium to the speaker highlighting specific clauses of the bill requiring amendments.
“We forwarded to the speaker our position on this issue. We also forwarded a detailed compendium of the various clauses and our suggestions on what ought to be done during clause-by-clause consideration, but we were never given that opportunity,” Ogene added.
He thereafter invited the Minority Leader, Hon. Frederick Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa), to further explain the caucus’ position.
Speaking, Agbedi reiterated that the caucus’ objection was not to the creation of State Police but to the procedure adopted in passing the constitutional amendment.
“The Minority Caucus is not against the creation of State Police. We are not against whatever is going to remedy the insecurity in this country. As a Minority Caucus, we are ready to support it,” he said.
“But any action taken by parliament must follow due process. We are talking about an institution— the institution of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives. It has its own rules and laws, and when those rules and regulations are not complied with, it affects the credibility of the institution as well as the credibility of Nigeria and our democracy.”
Agbedi disclosed that the Minority Caucus had earlier met with Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, during which the speaker acknowledged areas of the bill that could be amended.
“Mr. Speaker even identified areas where we could intervene. But for Mr. Speaker to sit as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, read only the long title of the bill and then put a voice question for the determination of a constitutional alteration that requires two-thirds majority, clause-by-clause consideration and voting, is absurd,” he said.
Citing the House Standing Orders, Agbedi argued that constitutional amendments require clause-by-clause consideration and voting.
“Order 13 Rule 15(a) provides that in clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, a clause shall be deemed passed only if supported by a positive vote of two-thirds majority of members of the House.”
According to him, failure to comply with that procedure undermined the integrity and credibility of the legislative process.
“This is not about majority or minority. It is about protecting the laws of this nation. Anywhere there is no rule of law, that society is deemed to be in crisis,” he stated.
Agbedi also criticised the speaker’s decision to rule him out of order without first hearing the substance of his constitutional objection.
“As Minority Leader, I raised a point of order and, without hearing it, the Chairman ruled me out of order. He needed to hear my point of order before deciding whether it complied with our rules or the constitution,” he said.
Questioning the validity of the voting process after minority members walked out of the chamber, he added: “If we had walked out of the House, where are our votes? Can you count our votes? Can you decide a constitutional amendment with a voice vote? It is not possible.”
Agbedi maintained that the caucus merely sought the opportunity to debate the bill clause by clause and propose amendments where necessary.
“Laws, proposals, executive bills and private members’ bills are all subject to amendment before members in the chamber. In this case, we were not allowed to go through clause-by-clause consideration and we were not given the opportunity to cast our votes as provided by the constitution and our rules.”
Calling on Nigerians to defend democratic institutions and the rule of law, he declared: “We stand on the side of Nigeria. We stand on the side of the rule of law. We stand on the right side of what will make Nigeria a great nation and preserve the integrity, progress and development of this country.”
Earlier on Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the executive Constitution Alteration Bill establishing State Police Services, with Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announcing that 311 lawmakers voted in support of the proposal, comprising 276 members who voted physically and 35 who participated virtually. The Senate also approved the constitutional amendment, moving the proposal to the final stage of the constitutional alteration process, where it will require ratification by not less than two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before it can become part of the constitution.
