Buhari rejects Revenue Mobilization bill, four others

President Muhammadu Buhari has again declined assent to five
different bills transmitted to him by the National Assembly late
last year.

The National Assembly bills rejected by Buhari are, Maritime
Security Operations Coordinating Board (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and
the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission
(Amendment) Bill 2018.

Others are Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill 2018, Federal
Polytechnic (Amendment) Bill 2018 and The Energy Commission
(Amendment) Bill.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the resumption of plenary on
Wednesday, read Buhari’s letters where he gave reasons for
declining assent on the legislation.

Giving reasons for rejecting the Maritime Security Operations
Coordinating Board (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Buhari said “the
proposed amendments will create distortions and duplications with
the functions and operations of the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency.”

Rather, he urged the Senate to focus on passing the suppression
of piracy and other maritime offences bill currently before it in
order to achieve a more comprehensive review of the operations of
the maritime sector.

Buhari said he rejected the RMFAC (amendment) bill because it
will interfere with and obstruct the smooth administration of
revenue generating agencies of the Federal Government.

He also stated that the bill will confer the powers of oversight
of the revenue currently vested in the President and Minister of
Finance to the RMFAC.

This he said negates the existing provisions of Section 51 of
the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

He also referred to drafting errors as reasons for rejecting the
Bankruptcy and Insolvency bill stressing that a number of
provisions in the bill needed to be properly domesticated and
aligned to the Nigerian law.

Buhari said he rejected the Federal Polytechnic (amendment) bill
because its Section 16 (1)(2) of the legislation which subjects the
removal of the Governing Council members and rectors of polytechnic
to the approval of the Federal Executive Council, among others.

The president also said he declined to assent to the Energy
Commission (amendment) bill because of the proposal in Section 8
that the agency will be entitled to 5 per cent from the Federation
Account, is unconstitutional.

He also said the bill infringes on the Rural Electrification
Agency’s powers to carry out its mandate with particular reference
to the promotion and development of unserved and under-served rural
communities across Nigeria.