Buhari Refuses To Sign 3 Bills Passed By The National Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari has yet again withheld assent to three bills passed by the Senate regarding matters on inconsistency and conflict with the Constitution.

Presiding over the plenary, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, today, Tuesday,  read the letter from the President expressing his reservations.

The bills include:

1. Police Procurement Fund (establishment) Bill 2017

2. Chartered Institute of of management Bill 2017

3. Nigeria Council for Social Works (establishment) Bill 2017

Buhari’s letter read in part, “I hereby convey to the Senate my decision on 25th January 2018 to decline presidential assent to three bills recently passed by the National Assembly, namely Police Procurement Fund (Establishment) Bill 2017, due to lack of clarity regarding the manner of disbursement of the fund as well as constitutional issues regarding the powers of the National Assembly to appropriate funds allocated to the 36 states and 744 local governments which conflicts with Sections 80 to 82 and 120 to 122 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.”

The president added that the  Chartered Institute of of management Bill 2017 and Nigerian Council for Social Works (Establishment) Bill 2017 were not clearly mapped out.

“The Chartered Institute of Management of Nigeria Bill 2017, due to lack of clarity over the scope of the profession of public management, that this bill prohibits persons who are not members of the institute from practising.

“Nigerian Council for Social Works (Establishment) Bill 2017, due to lack of clarity over the scope of the profession of social works, that this bill prohibits all persons who are not members of the institute from practising.”

Naija News recalls that President Buhari had in November 2017 withheld accent to two bills passed by the Senate, on the grounds of non-clarity too.

The President had said: “The rationale for withholding assent is regarding certain words and phrases utilised in the bill.”