Reps pass resolutions to curb presidential bills rejection

The House of Representatives on Tuesday expressed concern over the presidential decline to bills passed by both chambers of the National Assembly for various reasons including grammatical errors and passed resolutions to curb this.

The Lower chamber’s resolutions aimed at ensuring confirmation of authenticated bills before transmission to the president for assent. This is sequel to a motion sponsored by Sada Soli, lawmaker representing Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency during plenary on Tuesday.

Soli, leading the debate, noted that there are often discrepancies in some bills passed by the National Assembly, specifically allegations that certain provisions are not identical with the original Bill passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Read also: Two PDP lawmakers dump party for APC over lingering ‘party crisis’

He also noted the President’s recent decline to assent to bills due to errors, adding that the bills are not always reverted to the Clerks of both Houses for confirmation to ensure that the final version of the bills accurately reflects the intentions of the National Assembly before transmission to the president for assent.

Contributing to the debate, Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker recalled that in the 8th Assembly, only 80 bills were assented to out of over 500, due to these lingering issues. He regretted that no step has been taken formally to correct this.

Subsequently, the House resolved to mandate the Clerk to the National Assembly to: reverts all authenticated Bills to the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives respectively for confirmation before final transmission to the President for assent;

Ensure that the Clerks of both Houses verify the authenticity and accuracy of Bills passed and forwarded to the President, certifying that no alterations or errors have occurred during the authentication process;

Ensure that this confirmation process be made mandatory for all Bills, including Constitution alteration Bills, to guarantee the integrity and legitimacy of the legislative process.