The House of Representative has mandated will review, 22 bills yet to be assented to by the President Buhari including to the controversial Peace Corps Bill, before deciding what to do next. The 22 bills (including the Peace Corps Bill) were either rejected or not responded to by the president.
Raising a point of order on Thursday, Uzomma Nkem-Abonta (Abia – PDP), drew the attention of the House to the 22 bills that were transmitted to the president at various times which he did not sign. He quoted various sections of the Constitution which mandates the National Assembly to override the president if he fails to assent a bill after 30 days.
He urged the House to look at the bills that were transmitted to the president, and see if the reasons he gave were good enough. “The constitution says the rejected bills will come back to the House for us to look at it, veto it or otherwise,” he said.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara mandated the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business to schedule a date when the House will look at the bills again and see the reasons given for not assenting, and decide on what to do.
The president had in a letter sent to the House of Representatives, rejected a bill to establish the Peace Corps of Nigeria. He cited financial implications and duplication of duties of existing security agencies, as reasons for withholding his assent to the bill.
The National Assembly is empowered by the provisions of section 58(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, to override the president on Bills. While the House requires 240 members to make up its two-thirds, the 109-member Senate requires 73 members to veto the president’s assent.
Order 12(b)(c) of the Standing Orders and Rules of the House of Representatives (2016) also provides that the rejected Bill could be looked upon by the House (through a motion) and if supported by two-thirds of the Reps, the Bill is proclaimed law without the assent of the president.
