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Buhari withholds assent to institute, varsity bills, seeks adjustments

By Adamu Abu, Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, and George Opara (Abuja)
22 November 2017   |   3:35 am
President Muhammadu Buhari has declined assent to the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management and the Federal University of Wukari establishment bills, saying certain words and phrases in the proposed laws are not appropriate pursuant to section 58 (4) of the constitution.

President Muhammadu Buhari

• Senate probes N2b HYPPADEC funds
•Reps investigate sale of N20b PHCN assets

President Muhammadu Buhari has declined assent to the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management and the Federal University of Wukari establishment bills, saying certain words and phrases in the proposed laws are not appropriate pursuant to section 58 (4) of the constitution.

The complaints are contained in four separate letters Buhari sent to the senate, dated November 8, 2017 and read in plenary yesterday by Senate President Bukola Saraki.

The president complained that “treasury management” was not defined in one of the bills and that greater clarity might be required regarding the impact of the proposed law on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation of treasury managers in banks, and the relationship between the proposed institute and other existing professional institutes that regulate treasury managers in Nigeria. The bill on the establishment of the Federal University of Wukari, Taraba State was not signed into law because the word “Statute” should replace “Regulation” throughout the bill for consistency.

The president said Paragraph 9(1) of the 1st schedule should refer to “the president” and not “the visitor”, and that paragraph 5 of the 3rd Schedule should refer to sub-paragraph (2) and not sub-Paragrah (3).

Buhari also asked the senate to amend the law establishing the Raw Materials Research Council and enact a law for establishment of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA).

Meanwhile, the Senate has mandated its committees on power and public accounts to probe about N2 billion, including interests that accrued, and were collected on behalf of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission.

Accordingly, the upper chamber mandated the relevant committees to invite the leadership of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, the relevant distributing companies (DISCOS) and generating companies (GENCOs) as well as Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to establish the status of the commission’s funds.

These were fallouts of resolutions reached by the lawmakers sequel to consideration of a motion on funds accruing to HYPPADEC which was sponsored by David Umaru (APC – Niger East).

Similarly, the House of Representatives has ordered an investigation into the sale of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) non-core assets and scraps whose worth is put at N20 billion.

Adopting a motion sponsored by Mrs. Rita Orji at the plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Sulaimon Lasun, the House directed its committees on power and public procurement to investigate the alleged fraudulent sale of the assets and report back within one month.

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