The National Assembly has sent the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to the Houses of Assembly of the 36 states for consideration and approval.
Clerk to the National Assembly Kamoru Ogunlana announced the transmission in a statement on Tuesday. The move, carried out under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution and on the directive of the National Assembly leadership, marks the start of the next formal stage in the amendment process.
Section 9 requires any bill seeking to alter the Constitution to receive the approval of at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before the National Assembly can complete the alteration. The Constitution itself sets no deadline for the states to respond.
Ogunlana said the National Assembly nevertheless expects the state legislatures to conclude their deliberations and communicate their resolutions within 30 days of receiving the bill. He described the timeframe as an administrative expectation intended to ensure an orderly process, not a constitutional requirement.
“It is noted that the Constitution does not prescribe a specific period within which the State Houses of Assembly are required to communicate their resolutions on a constitutional alteration Bill,” Ogunlana said. “Nevertheless, in the interest of an orderly, coordinated and timely conclusion of the constitutional alteration process, the State Houses of Assembly are expected to consider the Bill and communicate their respective resolutions to the National Assembly within 30 days of receipt. For clarity, the 30-day period is an expected administrative timeframe and does not constitute a constitutional deadline.”
He stressed that the state Houses of Assembly remain constitutionally independent and that the National Assembly respects that independence. The transmission, he added, is meant to facilitate the orderly discharge of their responsibilities and not to dictate the outcome of their consideration.
Once the resolutions are received, the National Assembly will take the further steps required by the Constitution. The 36 Houses of Assembly are now expected to begin their individual legislative processes on the bill.
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