BY EDITOR IN CHIEF.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declined assent to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Establishment) Amendment Bill, 2026, and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026, citing legal, structural and drafting defects.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, read the two letters conveying the President’s decision during plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.
In the first letter dated July 7, 2026, President Tinubu said he declined assent to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Establishment) Amendment Bill pursuant to Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
He noted that while the proposed amendments were “laudable and in order,” the insertion of subclauses 10 to 15 after Section 11(9) of the Principal Act raised concerns.
The President faulted subclause 10 for compelling incorporated entities to submit details of their heads of procurement to the Institute, which he said “is not the regulator.”
He also rejected subclause 11, which imposes a daily fine of ₦2,000 on firms that employ non-registered members, describing it as “an unreasonable restraint of trade.”
Other objections include subclause 12, which mandates firms to notify the Institute of staff removal; subclause 13, which empowers the Institute to sue non-members; subclause 14, which allows the Institute to set up inspection committees; and subclause 15, which empowers such committees to submit reports.
Tinubu said the Institute “cannot act as a compliance officer” for companies registered under CAMA 2020. He, however, stated that the Bill could be re-transmitted for assent after the issues are addressed.
In a separate letter also dated July 7, 2026, the President declined assent to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026 due to “structural errors and drafting defects.
”He said the long title of the Bill does not reflect the key policy objectives of the Principal Act, which relate to the development, protection and processing of raw materials in Nigeria.
Tinubu also faulted Section 2 of the Bill for confusing the “Objectives of the Council” with the “Objectives of the Bill,” and for stating functions instead of policy intent.
He further objected to the insertion of new operational provisions, Sections 12C to 12G, under the financial provisions of the Principal Act, noting that they are unrelated to Sections 12 and 13 and make the Bill “incoherent and difficult to comprehend.”The President urged the National Assembly to correct the identified defects before retransmission.
