Tinubu Rejects Two Amendment Bills Over Legal, Drafting Defects

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declined assent to two amendment bills passed by the National Assembly, citing legal, structural and drafting issues that require correction before they can become law.

The affected legislations are the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Establishment) Amendment Bill, 2026 and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

The President’s decisions were conveyed in separate letters addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas and read during plenary on Wednesday.

In the letter on the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Establishment) Amendment Bill, Tinubu said his decision to withhold assent was taken in line with Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The President acknowledged that several aspects of the proposed amendment were commendable but raised objections to provisions contained in Clause 8, which sought to introduce new subclauses after Section 11(9) of the principal Act.

Tinubu argued that some of the proposed provisions attempted to grant the institute powers beyond its regulatory mandate, particularly over organisations that may not be members of the institute.

He faulted a provision requiring incorporated organisations to submit details of their heads of procurement and supply chain management to the institute, saying the body lacked the authority to compel independent organisations to provide such information.

The President also raised concerns over a proposed penalty provision requiring organisations that appoint non-members of the institute as heads of procurement to pay daily fines, describing it as an unreasonable restriction on trade.

He further objected to provisions that empowered the institute to compel organisations to submit removal notices of procurement officers, initiate legal action against non-members and conduct compliance inspections.

According to Tinubu, the institute could enforce compliance among its members but could not assume regulatory powers over non-members or incorporated organisations generally.

He, however, indicated that the bill could still receive presidential approval if the identified issues were addressed and the legislation retransmitted.

In a separate communication, the President also declined assent to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026, citing structural errors and drafting defects.

Tinubu said the long title of the bill did not properly reflect the policy objectives of the principal legislation, which focuses on the development, protection and processing of raw materials in Nigeria.

He suggested that the title should be revised to clearly capture the purpose of strengthening raw materials development and supporting local manufacturing and processing industries.

The President also identified problems with Section 2 of the amendment bill, arguing that it confused the objectives of the legislation with the functions of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council.

According to him, the provision was drafted as operational functions rather than as a statement of the policy objectives of the bill.

Tinubu further criticised the placement of new operational provisions relating to value addition of raw materials under sections dealing with the council’s financial provisions.

He said the insertion of new sections unrelated to funding and accounts made the amendment bill incoherent and difficult to interpret alongside the existing law.

The President maintained that the identified defects did not prevent the bills from being reconsidered, stressing that both legislations could be suitable for assent after necessary corrections were made.