By Our Reporter

The National Assembly has received approvals from 30 State Houses of Assembly for the proposed constitutional amendment seeking the establishment of State Police Services, with the remaining six states expected to communicate their positions before Monday, the deadline given for the exercise.

The development means that the proposed amendment has already exceeded the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, representing 24 states, although the National Assembly is still awaiting the outstanding approvals before proceeding with the final stage of the constitutional amendment process.

The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this on Wednesday during plenary, where he read out the names of the 30 states that had so far approved the bill, to provide clarity on the progress of the exercise.

Bamidele explained that the remaining six states had until next Monday to complete the process and communicate their resolutions to the National Assembly before the bill could proceed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent.

He said the National Assembly had fulfilled its constitutional responsibility by passing the bill and transmitting it to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.

The 30 states that have approved the proposed amendment are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Explaining the constitutional procedure for amending the 1999 Constitution, Bamidele identified three critical stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of the State Houses of Assembly and presidential assent.

“Let me explain again, for the avoidance of doubt, three keywords are used in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. The first word is passage, the second word is approval and the third word is assent,” he said.

According to him, while passage of the bill is the responsibility of the National Assembly, approval must be secured from at least 24 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, after which the President is required to give assent to complete the constitutional amendment process.

He noted that the constitutional requirements were deliberately designed to ensure that amendments to the nation’s supreme law enjoyed broad support across the different levels of government.

“The reason the writers of our Constitution, our forefathers, put all these specific words is to ensure that no part of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can be easily amended without the buying in of all the critical stakeholders at all levels of governance,” Bamidele stated.

The Senate Leader expressed satisfaction that 30 states had already approved the proposed amendment, describing the development as an indication of the level of support the initiative had received from elected representatives across the country.

“Two things that need to be emphasised here is that we needed two-thirds of the states at the very least for this to pass, and already two-thirds will be 24. So, as of yet, we already got 30 states, showing the popularity of this bill among Nigerians through the elected representatives in the State Houses of Assembly,” he said.

He, however, stressed that the National Assembly was still expecting the remaining six states to communicate their approvals before the Monday deadline.

“We believe that the remaining six states will still get back to the National Assembly before next week Monday, which is the deadline,” he added.

Bamidele described the development as an important moment for Nigeria’s constitutional and democratic process, expressing optimism that the outstanding states would complete the exercise within the stipulated period.

“But so far, I want to say that this is a very happy development for our democracy and for the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

Earlier, a notice from the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, had been read on the floor of the Senate by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, indicating that the National Assembly had received approvals from 29 State Houses of Assembly as of the close of business on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

The notice stated that the leadership of the National Assembly was monitoring the submissions from the state legislatures as part of the constitutional amendment process.

The subsequent announcement by Bamidele brought the number of approving states to 30.

The proposed State Police amendment is aimed at decentralising Nigeria’s policing architecture by creating room for the establishment of police services at the state level, complementing the existing federal policing structure.

The proposed reform is expected to provide a constitutional framework for state governments to establish and manage their respective police services, subject to the safeguards and regulatory provisions to be contained in the amended Constitution.

The initiative has remained a major subject of national debate, particularly against the backdrop of persistent security challenges, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and other forms of criminality across different parts of the country.

With 30 states having already approved the amendment, the National Assembly is now awaiting the remaining six states to complete the required constitutional process before the bill is formally transmitted to President Tinubu for assent.

The President’s assent will constitute the final stage of the amendment process, after which the necessary legal and institutional arrangements for the establishment of State Police Services can proceed

A Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by David Mark.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Peter Lifu, presiding judge, declared the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal, ruling in favour of Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former national deputy chairman (north-east) of the party.

Lifu also invalidated all decisions taken by the party’s caretaker committee, including the nomination of Atiku Abubakar as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

Bala approached the court to challenge the process by which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party after Ralph Nwosu, the former national chairman, resigned.

He argued that, following Nwosu’s resignation, he was constitutionally entitled to assume the party’s leadership.

The plaintiff asked the court to nullify all decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership and restrain Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s national chairman and national secretary, respectively.

He argued that their emergence violated the ADC constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, listed the ADC, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu as defendants.

In his judgment, Lifu upheld Bala’s claims and granted the reliefs sought, effectively invalidating the actions of the caretaker committee, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.

INEC had earlier published Atiku’s name as the ADC’s candidate for the January 16, 2027 presidential election. The former vice-president has also picked Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers, as his running mate.

Reacting to the ruling, Nkemakolam Ukandu, the ADC national welfare secretary, said the party would challenge the judgment at the appellate court.

… Decry marginalization, career stagnation/educational regulatory framework

By Uzo Ugwunze

Pharmacy Technicians in Nigeria have called for stronger collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to close professional borders, combat quackery and eliminate fake drugs across the country.

The National President of the Reformed Forum of Pharmacy Technicians in Nigeria (RFPTN), Pharm. Tech. Shagba Humphrey T., made the call while delivering an address at the ongoing 99th PSN Annual National Conference, IJELÉ ’26, in Awka, Anambra State, describing it as the first-ever official appearance and address of Pharmacy Technicians at the PSN conference.

Shagba commended the PSN President, Pharm. Ibrahim Tanko Ayuba, for his visionary and inclusive leadership, noting that the partnership between both bodies has grown through sustained engagement, from the hosting of former PSN President, Pharm. Cyril Usifoh, at RFPTN’s first national conference to the invitation of the RFPTN leadership to PSN events in Abuja and Lagos.

However, he decried the decades-long career stagnation facing Pharmacy Technicians, who he said spend 30 to 35 years in service and retire with the same National Diploma they started with, unlike other health cadres who enjoy progression from ND to HND, PGD and Masters, and called for clear academic pathways under the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) to restore dignity and productivity.

Shagba lamented that pharmacy practice in Nigeria has become dangerously porous, with doctors, lawyers, bankers, nurses and even SSCE holders operating Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and community outlets, while trained and PCN-certified Pharmacy Technicians are restricted, stressing that all pharmaceutical service points should be manned exclusively by pharmacists and certified technicians.

He said Pharmacy Technicians are ready to serve as the primary operational link in digital supply chain integrity, cold chain management and anti-counterfeiting, as well as frontline providers in hundreds of rural communities where they already deliver pharmaceutical care.

The RFPTN president listed the forum’s demands to include setting Pharmacy Technician qualification as the minimum legal baseline for dispensing medicines, integration of certified technicians into PCN inspection and enforcement teams for grassroots anti-quackery, deployment in Primary Health Care centres under task-shifting policies, and institutional synergy under the conference theme “One Health, One Pharmacy: Bridging Knowledge, Practice and Policy for National Impact.”

He concluded that Nigeria cannot achieve Universal Health Coverage, eliminate drug quackery or secure its pharmaceutical supply chain while leaving its primary mid-level technical workforce marginalized, pledging the commitment of Pharmacy Technicians to remain competent, ethical and disciplined pillars of pharmaceutical care.

Earlier in his welcome address, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. Ibrahim Tanko Ayuba,
speaking under the theme, “One Health, One Pharmacy: Bridging Knowledge, Practice and Policy for National Impact,” said the conference reaffirms the profession’s commitment to responsive, evidence-based healthcare, noting that human, animal and environmental health are interconnected and require coordinated action across professions and sectors.

He emphasized the need to advance pharmacy practice through structured postgraduate training, clinical collaboration and recognition of the Consultant Pharmacist cadre, citing partnerships with WASPEN and the International Pharmacy Practice Residency Programme as vital steps to improving patient care and health system performance.

Ayuba also called for full implementation of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines and completion of Coordinated Wholesale Centres to fight counterfeit and substandard medicines, while urging stronger partnership with government, academia and industry ahead of the Society’s centenary in 2027 to build a more resilient, equitable and responsive health system.