President Bola Tinubu has formally notified the House of Representatives of his decision to withhold presidential assent to two bills passed by the National Assembly, citing legal and structural concerns that require further legislative review.
The decision was conveyed in separate letters read on the floor of the House during Wednesday’s plenary by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
The two rejected bills are the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In his communication, President Tinubu acknowledged that the proposed amendments to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria Bill contained several commendable provisions. However, he expressed reservations over clauses that sought to confer regulatory powers on the institute beyond its statutory mandate.
According to the President, provisions requiring organisations to report procurement appointments to the institute, penalising employers who appoint non-members to head procurement units, compelling companies to notify the institute before removing procurement officers, authorising the institute to institute legal action against non-members, and granting it powers to inspect private organisations would amount to unreasonable restrictions.
Tinubu maintained that the institute is not the statutory regulator of procurement practice in Nigeria and therefore lacks the authority to impose such obligations on independent organisations.
He urged the National Assembly to review the contentious provisions and transmit the revised bill for presidential consideration.
The President also declined assent to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026, citing drafting deficiencies and structural inconsistencies.
According to the letter, the bill failed to adequately reflect its objectives in its long title and contained technical defects that must be corrected before it can receive presidential approval.
Tinubu Transmits Two Executive Bills
While rejecting the two amendment bills, President Tinubu also forwarded two executive bills to the House of Representatives for legislative consideration.
The first is the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to improve the administration and governance of public senior secondary education across the country.
Tinubu explained that the proposed legislation had earlier received approval from the Federal Executive Council at its April 30, 2026 meeting before undergoing legal vetting by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He said the amendment aligns with his administration’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s education sector and appealed to lawmakers to give it speedy consideration.
The President also submitted the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, 2026, which proposes the repeal of the existing Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, and its replacement with a new legal framework aimed at improving the efficiency of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
According to Tinubu, the proposed legislation is designed to enhance criminal justice administration, accelerate the dispensation of justice, strengthen institutional coordination, protect the rights of suspects, defendants and victims, and improve public safety.
The bill will apply to the Federal Capital Territory and federal courts while also strengthening the powers and operations of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council.
Among the key reforms contained in the proposed legislation are the abolition of trial-within-trial proceedings for confessional statements through new admissibility procedures, the establishment of a national sex offenders register to be maintained by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the creation of a Witness Support Fund to facilitate timely payment of witness expenses, and the introduction of plea forms to simplify arraignment processes.
Other proposed reforms include mandatory timelines for determining no-case submissions, expanded use of written witness depositions to speed up trials, improved judicial case management, broader stakeholder representation on the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council, appointment of an Executive Secretary for the council, powers for the Attorney-General to issue implementation regulations, and measures to prevent retrials resulting from the retirement, transfer or death of judges.
President Tinubu urged the House of Representatives to give the executive bills prompt consideration and passage.
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