Policy clash: Tinubu rejects two N’Assembly bills

President Bola Tinubu has declined to sign two National Assembly bills, citing potential conflicts with existing fiscal and legal frameworks.

In separate letters to lawmakers, read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, Tinubu warned that certain provisions in the proposed laws could undermine public finance discipline and set harmful policy precedents.

The affected legislation includes the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2025 and the National Library Trust Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

While acknowledging their broad objectives, Tinubu said several clauses were inconsistent with federal fiscal and administrative principles.

On the Transport Technology Bill, the President faulted provisions introducing new levies, unregulated borrowing, and investment of public funds in securities—moves he said could create opaque revenue channels and open avenues for misuse.

He particularly cited Section 18(4a), which proposed that the institute be funded through “One per cent of the freight on every import and export,” warning that the levy, introduced without Federal Executive Council approval, would overburden trade and sidestep the national budgetary process.

Tinubu also objected to Section 20, which empowered the institute to borrow up to ₦50m without presidential consent—describing it as “a loophole that could enable repeated borrowing below the threshold to evade oversight.”

Sections 21 and 23, which allowed the institute to invest government-appropriated funds, were equally criticised as “fiscally dangerous.

“These provisions, if allowed, would not only undermine fiscal discipline but also create opportunities for financial abuse. For these reasons, I withhold my assent to the bill,” Tinubu wrote.

In a separate letter rejecting the National Library Trust Fund Amendment Bill, the President said that though the bill’s intentions were laudable, several sections clashed with existing federal laws and policy frameworks.

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He cited provisions on agency funding, taxation of national entities, staff remuneration, and tenure or age limits as potentially “unsustainable and against the public interest.”

“For these reasons, I cannot grant presidential assent to the bill in its present form. I urge the Senate to revisit and address the identified issues,” the letter read.

After reading both correspondences, Senate President Akpabio commended Tinubu’s “diligence in reviewing every legislation” and directed relevant committees to rework the affected bills for further legislative action.

“This demonstrates the seriousness with which Mr President is reviewing every legislation we pass. It is now our responsibility to carefully address the issues he has raised,” Akpabio said.

The Senate subsequently referred the Transport Technology Bill to the Committee of the Whole and the Library Trust Fund Amendment Bill to the Committees on Special Duties and Establishment and Public Service Matters for further scrutiny.

The withholding of assent to the proposed legislations signalled yet another instance of the executive’s closer scrutiny of legislative outputs under the current dispensation.

The rejection underscores Tinubu’s insistence on tightening fiscal control and aligning legislative proposals with broader economic reform priorities under his Renewed Hope administration.