President Bola Tinubu has declined assent to two bills passed by the National Assembly, citing constitutional concerns and legislative drafting deficiencies that must be addressed before the proposed laws can receive presidential approval.
The Senate was formally notified of the President’s decision on Thursday through two separate letters read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The affected bills are the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria Bill.
In both communications, President Tinubu said he was exercising his constitutional powers under Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which allows the President to withhold assent to bills passed by the National Assembly and return them with observations for reconsideration.
Explaining his decision on the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, Tinubu said the legislation contained structural inconsistencies and drafting errors that rendered it unsuitable for assent in its current form.
According to the President, the bill’s long title failed to adequately reflect its principal objective of promoting the development, protection and processing of Nigeria’s raw materials.
He noted that the title should expressly indicate that the amendment seeks to provide for the development and protection of the country’s raw materials while encouraging local manufacturing and value addition.
Tinubu also pointed to inconsistencies in Section 2 of the bill, stating that it incorrectly presented the council’s operational functions as legislative objectives.
He explained that legislative objectives are intended to outline policy goals rather than define the statutory responsibilities of an agency, adding that the bill conflated the two concepts.
The President further observed that provisions relating to value addition to raw materials had been inserted between sections dealing with the council’s finances and annual accounts, disrupting the logical flow of the principal Act.
According to him, the misplaced provisions make the amendment difficult to interpret and implement.
“These erroneous insertions make the Bill incoherent and difficult to comprehend within the context of the Principal Act. Accordingly, the Bill as currently proposed is disjointed,” the President
Tinubu also withheld assent to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria Bill, saying several of its provisions sought to confer regulatory powers on the institute beyond its statutory mandate.
While acknowledging that many of the proposed amendments were commendable, the President said certain clauses required further legislative review before the bill could receive presidential approval.
He specifically objected to the proposed amendment to Clause 8, which seeks to introduce new sub-clauses into Section 11 of the principal Act.
One of the proposed provisions would require incorporated companies and organisations to notify the institute within one month of appointing a head of procurement and supply chain.
Tinubu argued that such a requirement was legally unsustainable because the institute is not the statutory regulator of those organisations.
“The Institute, not being the regulator, cannot force incorporated entities or organisations that are independent and perhaps not registered members of the Institute to furnish such particulars,” he stated.
The President also faulted provisions empowering the institute to inspect organisations, sanction employers and enforce compliance among entities incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), saying the proposed powers exceeded the institute’s legal authority.
Despite withholding assent, Tinubu indicated that the legislation could still be approved once the identified constitutional and legal issues are addressed.
“Subject to the correction of the above issues, the Bill may be suitable for retransmission for assent,” he said.
Following the reading of the President’s letters, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred both communications to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative action.
He directed the committee to review the President’s observations and report back to the Senate within four weeks.
Under Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President is empowered to withhold assent to any bill passed by the National Assembly and return it with observations. The National Assembly may subsequently amend the legislation in line with the President’s recommendations or, where constitutionally required, override the presidential veto through the prescribed legislative process.
