• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Again, Buhari declines assent to five bills

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The number of bills rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari has increased from 23 to 28, as he declined assent to five bills transmitted to him by the National Assembly.
In a letter to Senate President, Bukola Saraki, which he read at plenary on Wednesday, he listed the five bills to include: Maritime Security Operations Coordinating Board (Amendment) Bill, Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (Amendment) Bill, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill, Federal Polytechnic (Amendment) Bill and Energy Commission (Amendment) Bill.
The letter was dated January 4, 2019.
He cited duplication of functions as reasons for rejecting the bills.
It would be recalled that the President had declined assent to 23 bills passed by the National Assembly in 2018, even as the report of the adhoc committee set up to review the rejected bills, is expected to be considered any moment from now.
The rejected include are: the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill, Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) (Amendment) Bill, National Research and Innovation Council (Est.) Bill, National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism (Est.) Bill, National Agricultural Seeds Council Bill, National Transport Commission Bill and the Federal Road Authority (Establishment) Bill.
Others are Chattered Institute of Entrepreneurship (Est.) Bill, Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences (Amendment) Bill, Subsidiary Legislation (Legislative Scrutiny) Bill, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (Amendment) Bill, National Broadcasting Commission (Amendment) Bill, five constitution amendment bills among others.
In another development, the President sought the approval of the Senate for the confirmation of nominees for the North East Development Commission (NEDC) as well as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).