The National Assembly has transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for consideration and concurrence. This move marks the final legislative hurdle required for the proposed amendments to become law.
The transmission involves a single comprehensive amendment bill designed to update specific sections of the 1999 Constitution. Under Nigerian law, any alteration to the constitution must be passed by a two-thirds majority of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and subsequently approved by a two-thirds majority of all the state houses of assembly in the federation.
The transmission of the Sixth Alteration Bill means that the legal focus now shifts from the federal capital, Abuja, to the various state capitals where lawmakers must debate and vote on the proposals.
Legislative process and requirements for concurrence
The constitutional amendment process in Nigeria is intentionally rigorous to prevent arbitrary changes to the nation’s fundamental law. The Sixth Alteration Bill follows a series of deliberations within the National Assembly where various stakeholders provided input on the necessary reforms.
For the bill to be enacted, at least 24 of the 36 state houses of assembly must pass the bill with a two-thirds majority. Once this threshold is met, the bill is returned to the National Assembly and forwarded to the President for assent. If the President withholds assent, the National Assembly can still override the veto provided the required majorities are maintained.
This current cycle of amendments comes amid ongoing national debates regarding the restructuring of power, the autonomy of local governments, and the efficiency of the judiciary. While the National Assembly has streamlined the current transmission into one bill, the contents address several distinct administrative and legal bottlenecks that have hindered governance.
Previous alterations to the 1999 Constitution have focused on areas such as the electoral act, the independence of the judiciary, and the creation of new states. The Sixth Alteration Bill is expected to build on these precedents by refining the operational framework of the federation.
State lawmakers are now expected to schedule plenary sessions to review the bill. The timeline for this process varies across states, but the urgency of the amendments typically prompts a swift review period. Failure of a state assembly to act does not necessarily stall the process, provided the 24-state threshold is achieved.
The outcome of this exercise will determine whether the proposed changes to the Nigerian state structure are adopted or if the legislative effort will fail due to lack of consensus among the federating units.
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