Following concerns over errors and discrepancies in some bills transmitted to the President for assent, which were declined, the House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated a stricter verification process for authenticated bills before transmission to the President.
This followed a motion during the plenary session presented by the lawmaker representing Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency of Katsina State, Sada Soli
Soli decried the inconsistencies in certain bills passed by the National Assembly, noting that some provisions did not align with the versions approved by both chambers.
In February, President Bola Tinubu declined assent to the Federal University of Education, Numan (Establishment) Bill, 2024, citing legal and typographical errors in the document passed by the National Assembly.
The President observed several typographical errors, including the misspelling of “statutes” as “statues” in two instances, the omission of the preposition “of” in a crucial clause, and the incorrect spelling of “one-third” as “on-third.”
In his motion, Soli said the President’s recent decision to decline assent to a bill due to errors underscored the need for meticulous verification.
The lawmaker observed that all bills passed by the National Assembly are usually forwarded to the Clerk of the National Assembly for authentication, in accordance with the provisions of the Authentication Act.
He, however, lamented that the bills are not always reverted to the Clerks of both Houses for confirmation to ensure that the final version accurately reflects the intentions of the National Assembly before transmission to the President.
He told his colleagues that adopting the resolution would demonstrate the House’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law.
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Contributing to the motion, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu observed that much of the hard work done in the House often changes by the time it moves from the “kitchen” of parliament to the management of the National Assembly, resulting in final versions that differ from the original drafts.
Kalu recalled that when the SEDC bill was drafted and transmitted to the President, certain clauses appeared that were not part of the initial proposal.
He also recalled that in the Eighth National Assembly, out of 505 bills, only 80 were approved by the President due to errors, saying no steps have yet been taken to correct these mistakes.
He stressed the need for the Speaker to endorse the final copy of any bill, adding that the President and the Minister of Justice are thorough in their review of documents presented by the National Assembly.
Adopting the motion, the House mandated the Clerk of the National Assembly to revert all authenticated bills to the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives for confirmation before final transmission to the President for assent.