Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly have received the long-awaited Constitution Review Bill, formally known as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, marking the beginning of another critical stage in the amendment process.
Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamoru Ogunlana, confirmed the transmission in a statement made available to Parliamentary Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Ogunlana, the bill was transmitted to the state legislatures on September 16, 2026, following a directive from the leadership of the National Assembly.
He said the transmission was carried out in accordance with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, which sets out the procedure for altering the country’s grundnorm.
“The National Assembly has commenced the next stage of the constitutional alteration process with the transmission of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 to the Houses of Assembly of the 36 States of the Federation for their consideration and approval,” Ogunlana said.
The sixth alteration proposals cover 12 broad thematic areas: electoral reforms, judicial reforms, security and policing, local government administration, inclusive governance and citizenship, the legislature, devolution of powers, human rights, fiscal reforms, strengthening of institutions, traditional institutions, and the creation of states and local governments.
With the bills now before the state legislatures, the Houses of Assembly are required to consider the proposed amendments and communicate their resolutions to the National Assembly.
Ogunlana said the Clerk had requested the state assemblies to give the bill the requisite consideration in accordance with their respective legislative procedures before forwarding their decisions to the National Assembly.
Although the Constitution does not prescribe a specific period within which state legislatures must communicate their decisions on a constitutional alteration bill, the National Assembly has asked them to complete the process within 30 days of receiving the proposals.
He stressed, however, that the 30-day period should not be interpreted as a constitutional deadline.
“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,” he said.
“For clarity, the 30-day period is an expected administrative timeframe and does not constitute a constitutional deadline.”
The next phase is significant because constitutional alteration bills require approval beyond the National Assembly before they can become part of the Constitution.
Section 9(2) of the Constitution provides that, except where different requirements apply, a constitutional alteration proposal must receive the support of at least a two-thirds majority of all members of each chamber of the National Assembly and be approved by resolutions of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all states.
For amendments affecting Section 8, Section 9 itself or Chapter IV, which deals with fundamental rights, a higher threshold of a four-fifths majority of all members of each chamber of the National Assembly is required, alongside approval by the Houses of Assembly of at least two-thirds of the states.
The National Assembly had previously passed the State Police bill, which received the support of 311 members of the House of Representatives across party lines on July 23, 2026.
However, other constitution-related bills were not considered or passed by the House before it proceeded on its annual recess, as provided under the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Ogunlana said the National Assembly recognised the constitutional responsibility of the state legislatures and would respect their independence in considering the proposed amendments.
He said the process would be conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the principles of due process, institutional cooperation and respect for the legislative responsibilities of the different tiers of the legislature.
Once the resolutions of the State Houses of Assembly are received, the National Assembly will take the necessary further steps prescribed by the Constitution.
The outcome of the state-level consideration will therefore determine whether the proposed amendments can proceed to the next stage of the constitutional alteration process.