Reps begin clause-by-clause review of revised State Police Bill

The House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the Constitution has commenced a clause-by-clause review of the revised State Police Service Bill forwarded by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu announced this on Monday during the committee’s meeting in Abuja.

He said the proposed legislation is largely the same as the version previously worked on by the House, with only a few changes aimed at making the planned state police system clearer and easier to implement.

Kalu said, “The House and the Senate are working in tandem with each other to make sure that the significant amendments are achieved.”

He added that the committee’s task was to study the executive bill in detail and make recommendations before returning it to the House.

According to him, “The focus of today’s gathering is for us to consider this executive bill clause by clause and make appropriate recommendations to the house; but we must note also that Senate had already considered and adopted the executive bill.”

He explained that the revised proposal introduces Section 318, which covers interpretation, transitional arrangements, and other measures required to operationalise the state police framework. The bill also includes related constitutional amendments.

Kalu further noted that the Senate made minor wording changes to eight clauses of the bill.

He encouraged committee members to adopt the Senate’s amendments where appropriate to ensure the process moves forward quickly.