Senate sets November 15 deadline for six state assemblies

The Senate has set November 15 as the deadline for six state assemblies to formally communicate their positions on a proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, saying silence by then will be treated as withholding approval. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the deadline during plenary, and senators endorsed it unanimously. The six assemblies are in Abia, Benue, Cross River, Kano, Niger and Oyo. The Senate’s deadline concerns formal communication of their positions to the National Assembly. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele told the chamber that 30 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies had approved the amendment and transmitted their resolutions. That total exceeds the constitutional threshold of 24 assemblies, or two-thirds of the states. Bamidele also said the National Assembly had already passed the bill. The reports differ on whether the six states have yet to approve the proposal or whether some have passed it but have not formally sent their resolutions. One account said records showed five had passed it, with Niger the exception; another described all six as yet to approve. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin separately told the Senate that Kano had...