President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declined to sign two bills passed by the National Assembly, citing legal and structural concerns, while simultaneously forwarding two fresh executive bills to the House of Representatives aimed at reforming Nigeria’s education and criminal justice sectors.
The President’s decisions were conveyed in separate letters read during Wednesday’s plenary by Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas.
Tinubu Declines Assent To Procurement Institute, Raw Materials Bills
One of the rejected bills is the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
While acknowledging that several provisions in the proposed legislation were beneficial, Tinubu said some of its clauses granted the institute powers that exceeded its legal mandate.
According to the President, the bill sought to compel organisations to report procurement appointments to the institute, penalise employers who appoint non-members to head procurement departments, require firms to notify the institute whenever procurement officers are removed, empower the institute to prosecute non-members and authorise inspections of private organisations.
Tinubu argued that such provisions amounted to excessive regulation and unjustified interference in the affairs of private entities.
He maintained that the institute is not the statutory regulator of procurement practice in Nigeria and therefore lacks the authority to impose such obligations on organisations.
The President urged lawmakers to review the contentious provisions and resubmit the amended bill for consideration.
Tinubu also withheld assent to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026, citing drafting flaws and structural inconsistencies.
According to him, the bill failed to accurately reflect its core objectives in its long title and contained technical defects that must be corrected before it could receive presidential approval.
President Sends Two Executive Reform Bills To National Assembly
While rejecting the two amendment bills, Tinubu simultaneously asked lawmakers to consider two new executive bills designed to strengthen education administration and modernise Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
The first proposal, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to improve the governance, coordination and administration of public senior secondary education across the country.
In his communication to the House, Tinubu explained that the bill received approval from the Federal Executive Council at its April 30, 2026 meeting before undergoing legal review by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He described the legislation as part of his administration’s broader efforts to improve the nation’s education sector and appealed to lawmakers to give it speedy consideration.
Fresh Criminal Justice Bill To Replace 2015 Law
The President also transmitted the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, 2026, which proposes a complete repeal of the existing Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
The new legislation seeks to tackle long-standing challenges affecting Nigeria’s criminal justice system by introducing modern legal procedures, improving institutional coordination and accelerating the delivery of justice.
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Tinubu said the proposed law would apply to the Federal Capital Territory and federal courts while strengthening the operations of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council.
According to the President, the bill addresses recurring issues such as prolonged investigations and prosecutions, inadequate use of technology in criminal proceedings, weak coordination among justice institutions, poor case management and ineffective monitoring of compliance with criminal justice laws.
Among its major innovations 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 managed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, creation of a Witness Support Fund to cover witness expenses and the introduction of plea forms aimed at simplifying arraignment processes.
The bill also proposes mandatory timelines for determining no-case submissions, broader use of written witness depositions to accelerate trials, improved judicial case management systems, restructuring of 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 criminal trials from starting afresh whenever judges die, retire or are transferred.
Tinubu urged the House of Representatives to give the proposed legislation accelerated consideration, describing the reforms as essential to improving the efficiency, fairness and effectiveness of Nigeria’s justice system.