The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, read a letter to the House of Representatives on Tuesday declaring the President’s rejection of the bill on the Green Chamber floor.
Remember how the bill was approved by the National Assembly in 2024 and sent to the President for his signature? It was sponsored by Binos Yaroe, the politician who represents the Adamawa South Senatorial District.
Tinubu emphasised in the letter that the President has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to Federal Government-owned property, particularly federal-owned universities, and expressed concerns about Section 22 of the bill, which gives the Adamawa State Governor the power to dispose of federal institution land.
I hereby inform the House of Representatives of my decision, made on December 23, 2024, to refuse presidential assent to the Federal University of Education, Numan Establishment Bill 2024, which was recently approved by the National Assembly, in accordance with Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
Relevant News The letter partially stated, “I am declining assent to the bill because Section 22 of the bill gives the governor, not the president, the authority to dispose of the university’s land, as it ought to be in the case of land belonging to the Federal Government.”
Yaroe said that Tinubu did not reject the bill during a stakeholders’ meeting held last week in Adamawa State’s Mayo-Belwa Local Government Area, adding that he had just called attention to typographical mistakes in the proposed legislation.
The president identified some mistakes in the bill that needed to be fixed to ensure it complied with the constitution. For example, we gave the governor the authority to issue land authority, even though the president is the institution’s legitimate visitor.He clarified, “We will correct this blunder by substituting the president for the governor in the bill.
In the meantime, the House honoured the late Deputy Whip, Adewunmi Onanuga, who passed away on January 15, by postponing plenary till Wednesday, February 5, 2025.
CREDIT: ALLSCHOOL, Allschoolabs
No products in the cart.