The National Assembly has begun the next stage of the constitutional amendment process with the transmission of the 1999 Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to all 36 State Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, saying the transmission followed a directive from the leadership of the National Assembly and was carried out in line with the constitutional requirements for amending the nation's supreme law.

Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment bill cannot be considered passed unless it receives the approval of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.

The transmission to the states therefore represents a significant step in the legislative process, shifting the responsibility to the state legislatures to examine the proposed alterations and determine whether to approve them.

Ogunlana said the State Houses of Assembly had been asked to consider the bill according to their individual legislative procedures and subsequently communicate their decisions to the National Assembly.

While the Constitution does not specify a fixed period within which state legislatures must respond to constitutional amendment proposals, the Clerk said the assemblies are expected to communicate their resolutions within 30 days of receiving the bill.

He, however, stressed that the 30-day period should not be mistaken for a constitutional deadline.

“For clarity, the 30-day period is an expected administrative timeframe and does not constitute a constitutional deadline,” Ogunlana said.

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The clarification means that failure by a State House of Assembly to reach a decision within the 30-day administrative period would not, by itself, amount to a constitutional violation, as the Constitution does not prescribe a specific timeframe for the state-level consideration.

The National Assembly also acknowledged the constitutional authority and independence of the state legislatures in the amendment process.

According to Ogunlana, the transmission was intended to enable the State Houses of Assembly to discharge their constitutional responsibilities while ensuring that the process proceeds in an organised and coordinated manner.

He said the National Assembly remained committed to conducting the constitutional alteration exercise in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, due process and the respective responsibilities of the federal and state legislatures.

The Clerk added that once the resolutions of the State Houses of Assembly are received, the National Assembly will take the next necessary steps on the bill in accordance with the constitutional procedure.

The development places the 36 state legislatures at the centre of the next phase of the proposed constitutional alteration, as the bill now requires the required level of state approval before the National Assembly can proceed further with the process.