President Bola Tinubu has declined assent to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Amendment Bill, 2025, recently passed by the National Assembly.
Recall that the bill proposed granting the NDLEA the power to keep a portion of the proceeds from drug-related crimes in variance to the current legal framework.
The President’s rejection was communicated to the House of Representatives as read during plenary on Thursday by the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas.
According to Tinubu, who cited Section 58, Subsection 4 of the 1999 Constitution, signing the bill would be a direct contravention of the aforementioned sections of Nigeria’s rule of law.
BAT clarified that under existing law, all gains from crime must be deposited into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account.
“All proceeds of crime are paid into the government’s Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account. Disbursements to any recovery agency, including the NDLEA, can only be made by presidential approval, subject to the consent of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly,” he said.
Tinubu maintained there is no tangible reason to change a process designed to uphold accountability through executive and legislative oversight.
He concluded by saying that any disbursement to relevant agencies involved in recoveries must be made by the President, and only with the approval of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has blasted the politicians behind a proposed political coalition aimed at preventing his re-election bid in 2027.
He recently described them as political “internally displaced persons,” and Nigerians have been reacting.
Speaking while commissioning legacy projects in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, the President revealed that the alliance involving Atiku and El-Rufai is a misguided political move.
“Those who have triggered the early politics in the perdition of the coalition suddenly. Don’t pay them any attention; they are the political IDPs. Don’t give them a home; the hope is here,” he said.
Tinubu noted that he won’t stay quiet while opposition figures plot to unseat him in 2027, stressing that his government has made major progress since he assumed power.
According to him, his administration is relentlessly addressing the current economic challenges, and Nigerians will have no reason to regret putting their faith in him.
“I’m not geared for what they tried to pull on me. Early political campaign, but who is the politician who will keep quiet when the gangsters are forming a coalition to unseat themselves?
We’ve cut the waste. I won’t say much on the economic dynamism that we’re facing, but the hope is here. From this moment on, you’ll have no regret,” he said.
