Buhari withholds assent to two bills passed by N’Assembly, writes Senate

President Muhammadu Buhari has withheld assent to two bills passed by the National Assembly. He conveyed his decision via a letter to the Senate.

The bills are: the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (Establishment) Bill 2017 and the Federal University of Wukari (Establishment) Bill 2017.

Buhari addressed separate letters conveying his reservations on the bills to Senate President Bukola Saraki, dated November 8, 2017.

The president based his reservations mostly on technicalities around the drafting of the bills.

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On the proposed institute, the president said, “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision, on 25 October 2017, to withhold assent to the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (Establishment, Etc.) Bill, 2017.

“The rationale for withholding assent is regarding the scope of, and phrases utilised in the bill. For instance, the phrase ‘treasury management’ is not defined in the bill; and greater clarity may be required regarding the impact of the bill on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation of treasury managers in banks, and the relationship between the proposed institute and other existing professional institutes that regulate treasury managers in Nigeria.”

Speaking on the university, Buhari said, “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision, on 25 October 2017, to withhold assent to the Federal University of Wukari (Establishment, Etc.) Bill, 2017.

“The rationale for withholding assent is regarding certain words and phrases utilised in the bill. For instance, the word ‘Statute’ should replace ‘Regulation’ throughout the bill for consistency;

“Paragraph 9(1) of the First Schedule should refer to ‘the President’ and not ‘the Visitor,’ and Paragraph 5 of the third Schedule should refer to sub-paragraph 2 and not sub-paragraph 3.”

The president also presented three executive bills in separate letters to the Senate dated October 31, 2017. While two sought to establish two organisations, one sought to amend an existing act of parliament.

They are: ‘A Bill for An Act to Provide for the Establishment of Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, 2017;’ ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of Federal Institute for Industrial Research, 2017;’ and the ‘Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Repeal and Re-Enact) Bill, 2017.’

 

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