Tinubu Declines Assent To 2 Bills Over Fiscal, Policy Concerns

President Bola Tinubu has declined assent to 2 Bills precocious passed by the National Assembly, citing provisions helium described arsenic inconsistent with national policy, fiscally risky, and perchance harmful to bully governance.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio work the President’s objection letters to lawmakers during Tuesday’s plenary league arsenic the Senate resumed from its yearly recess.

The archetypal measure rejected by the President was the projected instrumentality establishing the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT). While acknowledging its bully intentions, Tinubu flagged respective provisions successful the measure arsenic problematic.

Among the issues highlighted was the bill’s proviso authorising the institute to cod 1% of each import and export freight levies—a measurement the President described arsenic “onerous and unfair to businesses,” and incompatible with the Federal Government’s taxation policy.

The authorities besides allowed the institute to get up to ₦50 cardinal without statesmanlike support and to put nationalist funds, adjacent though the bureau is not designed to make revenue.

Tinubu warned that these clauses could pb to superior fiscal mismanagement and interruption existing fiscal subject frameworks.

“Such clauses airs superior fiscal and governance challenges and, if allowed, would acceptable a unsafe precedent,” helium stated.

The President besides withheld assent to the National Library Trust Fund (Establishment) Amendment Bill 2025, citing conflicts with existing laws and policies.

According to Tinubu, the measure contradicted halfway authorities policies related to the backing of nationalist agencies, taxation, nationalist work remuneration, and property and tenure limits for nationalist servants.

He stressed that enacting the measure successful its existent signifier would “create an unsustainable precedent against the nationalist interest.”

In some letters, Tinubu urged the Senate to code the identified inconsistencies and revise the bills accordingly.

“I anticipation that the Senate volition instrumentality the indispensable steps to hole the identified issues with this legislation,” helium wrote.

Responding to the President’s concerns, Senate President Akpabio thanked him for his cautious scrutiny of the bills and acknowledged the request for further legislative refinement.

“This is simply a objection of the President’s dependable hands and attraction to detail. It present falls connected america to re-examine the bills and guarantee they are successful enactment with nationalist argumentation and fiscal responsibility,” Akpabio told his colleagues.

Both bills were subsequently referred to applicable Senate Committees for further legislative action.