Sovereign power say (5)

I believe the answer is:

state

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

This clue might be a double definition.

'sovereign power' is the first definition.
'state' can be an answer for 'power' (thesaurus). I'm not sure about the 'sovereign' bit.

'say' is the second definition.
(I know that say can be written as state)

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for state that I've seen before include "Say; condition" , "Country; aver" , "A test (anag.)" , "eg Iowa" , "Public" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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