​President Bola Tinubu on Thursday declined assent to two key bills passed by the National Assembly, citing constitutional concerns, structural deficiencies, and drafting defects.
​The affected legislations returned to the federal lawmakers are the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria Bill.
​The Senate was formally notified of the executive decision on Thursday during plenary, when Senate President Godswill Akpabio read two separate letters transmitted by the President on the floor of the upper chamber.
​In the official correspondence, President Tinubu noted that his decision to withhold assent was in strict compliance with Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which empowers the executive to return bills to the National Assembly alongside observations for reconsideration.
​The President’s specific objections included in the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, the President highlighted that the long title failed to adequately reflect its core objective which is supporting local manufacturing and protecting Nigeria’s raw materials.
Tinubu further identified technical errors in Section 2 of the bill, noting that it incorrectly presented the council’s internal functions as overarching legislative objectives rather than operational responsibilities.
The President pointed out that critical clauses regarding value addition to raw materials were randomly inserted between financial and annual account sections, rendering the draft legally confusing and difficult to follow.
​Following the presentation of the letters, Senate President Godswill Akpabio indicated that the Red Chamber would thoroughly look into the President’s observations.
​The bills will now be referred back to the relevant Senate committees for necessary drafting corrections and alignment with constitutional standards before they can be reconsidered for a potential override or re-transmission to the presidency.
