President Muhammadu Buhari has declined assent to the bill seeking to amend the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Act, alongside four others.
The four other bills the president rejected were; the Bankruptancy and Insolvency Bill, 2018; Federal Polytechnic Amendment Bill, 2018; Energy Commission Amendment Bill, 2018, and the Maritime Security Operations Coordinating Board Amendment Bill, 2018.
The president’s decision to decline assent to the bills was contained in letters read on the Senate floor on Thursday by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
Giving reasons for his decision to withhold assent to the revenue mobilisation amendment bill, Buhari said if signed into law, the bill would confer to the commission, certain powers outside the mandate of the commission.
“The bill will confer the powers of oversight of the revenue currently vested in the president and minister of finance to the revenue mobilization, allocation and fiscal commission and negate the existing provision of section 51 Federal Inland Revenue Services.”
On his decision to reject the bankruptancy and insolvency bill, Buhari said there were certain issues related to the drafting of the bill, which led to lack of clarity and understanding.
As for the federal polytechnic amendment bill, the president reasoned that making membership of the governing council of polytechnics as consisting of representatives of the ministry or regulatory body was not acceptable “and this may ultimately jeopardize the supervisory role of the ministry or the council.”
Similarly, Buhari noted that it would be unconstitutional to make the energy commission to receive an annual amount not less than 0.5 percent from the federation account.
Buhari also said that he rejected the maritime bill because it would lead to duplication of functions of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
