Reps Minority Caucus Walks Out Of Plenary Over Tinubu’s State Police Bill

…as 311 Reps vote to pass Bill

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives on Thursday staged a walkout from the chamber in protest over the passage of the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police, accusing the House leadership of violating constitutional provisions and the chamber’s Standing Orders.

Addressing journalists shortly after leaving the chamber, the Minority Leader, Fredrick Agbedi, alongside other caucus leaders, insisted that their action was not borne out of opposition to state police but against what they described as the abuse of parliamentary procedures.

Speaking on behalf of the caucus, Agbedi said the Speaker, while presiding as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, ignored clear constitutional requirements governing the alteration of the Constitution.

He argued that attendance in the House is determined through members’ registers signed on each legislative day and not by names read out during proceedings.

“The Constitution is the grand norm. It is the rule book from which even our Standing Orders derive their powers. For the Speaker, acting as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, to disregard the clear provisions of Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, is a great affront to the workings of the House of Representatives,” he said.

The caucus maintained that constitutional amendment bills must be considered clause by clause, with each provision supported by a two-thirds majority of members as stipulated in both the Constitution and the House Standing Orders.

Quoting Order 13 Rule 15(a) of the House Rules, the lawmakers said, “In the 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.”

They faulted the decision to merely read the long title of the bill and determine its passage through a voice vote without detailed consideration of each clause.

“We are not against the creation of state police,” the caucus stressed. “Whatever will help address insecurity in Nigeria, we are prepared to support. But every action taken by Parliament must follow due process.”

According to the lawmakers, they had earlier met with the Speaker and discussed proposed amendments to the bill, with the Speaker reportedly acknowledging areas where changes could be accommodated.

“Mr. Speaker even identified areas where we could intervene, but when he sat as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, he simply read the long title and put the question through a voice vote. That is absurd,” they said.

The Minority Caucus warned that failure to comply with constitutional procedures undermines the credibility of the National Assembly and Nigeria’s democratic institutions.

“When the rules and regulations are not complied with, it affects the credibility of the institution as well as the credibility of Nigeria and our democracy,” the lawmakers said.

They further alleged that the Speaker denied them the opportunity to raise constitutional points of order before proceeding with the vote.

“As Minority Leader, I raised a point of order, but before hearing me, the Chairman ruled me out of order. Which order was he ruling me out of? He ought to have heard my point of order first before deciding whether it complied with our rules or the Constitution,” the caucus stated.

The lawmakers also questioned how the constitutional amendment could validly secure the constitutionally required two-thirds majority after opposition members had walked out of the chamber.

“If we walked out of the House, where are our votes? Can you count our votes? Can anybody decide a constitutional amendment with a voice vote? It is not possible,” they argued.

Describing the development as a dangerous precedent, the Minority Caucus accused the ruling APC of eroding the rule of law and weakening democratic institutions.

“We stand on the side of Nigerians. We stand on the side of the rule of law. We stand on the side of what will make Nigeria a great nation and not what will diminish the integrity, progress and development of this country,” the lawmakers declared.

They urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and insisted that while they support the establishment of state police in principle, any constitutional amendment must strictly comply with the provisions of the Constitution and the House Standing Orders.

During plenary, no fewer than 311 members of the House of Representatives voted in support of the executive bill seeking to create state police.

According to Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, 35 lawmakers voted virtually while the remaining 276 where physically on ground during the voting.

This followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu at plenary.

The piece is tilled: “Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to provide for the Establishment of State Police Services and for Related Matters (HB. 2797).

Vanguard reports that President Bola Tinubu last week transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026 to the House of Representatives.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to create a constitutional pathway for the establishment of State Police Services.

Tinubu in a letter conveying the bill said the proposal builds on the significant work already done by the House and incorporates additional safeguards to ensure that the creation of a dual policing structure to address the nation’s evolving national security challenges can be achieved quickly and effectively to the benefit of all Nigerians.

“This bill builds on the significant work already done in this regard by the House of Representatives and incorporates additional safeguards to ensure that the creation of a dual policing structure to address our nation’s evolving national security challenges can be achieved quickly and effectively to the benefit of all Nigerians.

“The proposed legislation is a critical component of our administration’s strategy to reorganize Nigeria’s security architecture to better protect our citizens, and I am confident that the House of Representatives will act quickly to consider and pass this Bill.

“While I look forward to expeditious consideration of this submission by the House of Representatives, please accept, Rt. Honourable Speaker, the assurances of my consideration and best regards,” the letter reads.

Upon the receipt of the executive bill, the House rescinded its resolution of June 11 2026 on the Establishment of State Police Services and dissolved the 12-member Conference Committee constituted on July 9, 2026.

SOURCE: VANGUARD