President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declined to sign two recently passed bills into law, citing provisions that he said conflict with existing legislation, threaten fiscal discipline, and could create unsustainable precedents in public administration.
Gatekeepers News reports that the decision was communicated to the National Assembly on Tuesday when Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the President’s letters during plenary.
Tinubu explained that although he recognized the objectives of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2025 and the National Library Trust Fund (Establishment, etc.) Amendment Bill, 2025, both contained clauses that could undermine transparency, economic stability, and sound governance if enacted as currently drafted.
On the Transport Technology Bill, the President objected to provisions introducing unauthorized levies, unregulated borrowing powers, and investment of government funds, saying they contravened fiscal policy and oversight norms.
He particularly faulted Section 18(4a), which proposed that the institute be funded through “1% of the freight on every import and export” without Federal Executive Council approval, warning that such a levy would overburden businesses and create “an unregulated revenue stream outside the national budgetary process.”
Tinubu also criticised Section 20, which allowed the institute to borrow up to ₦50 million without presidential consent, describing it as a loophole that could enable repeated borrowing below the threshold to avoid scrutiny.
Similarly, he described Sections 21 and 23, which empowered the institute to invest appropriated public funds, as “fiscally dangerous,” stressing that the agency is not a revenue-generating body.
“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,” the President stated.
In a separate letter regarding the National Library Trust Fund Amendment Bill, Tinubu acknowledged its noble objectives but said some clauses conflicted with federal laws governing agency funding, taxation, staff remuneration, and tenure or age limits for service.
He warned that these provisions could set “an unsustainable precedent contrary to 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,” he wrote.
After reading the correspondence, Senate President Akpabio commended the President’s “diligence and attention to detail,” noting that the Senate would revisit the affected provisions.
“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 for further consideration, while the Library Trust Fund Amendment Bill was sent to the Committees on Special Duties and Establishment and Public Service Matters for review.
