President Bola Tinubu has refused to sign the 2025 amendment to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, citing concerns about accountability and compliance with Nigeria’s financial laws.
His decision was formally delivered to the House of Representatives and read aloud by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen. Tinubu invoked Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution, which gives the President the power to decline assent to any bill passed by the National Assembly.
According to the letter, the proposed law included a clause that would allow the NDLEA to keep part of the money recovered from drug-related crimes. The President described this clause as inconsistent with existing rules for handling crime proceeds in the country.
He explained that the current law requires all recovered assets to be paid into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account. Any release of such funds must be approved by the President, with backing from both the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly. He stressed that the process ensures accountability and should not be altered without strong justification.
“There is no need to change a system that already supports transparency through executive and legislative checks,” the President said in the letter.
The bill had earlier passed through both chambers of the National Assembly. It aimed to boost NDLEA’s funding and give it more autonomy in operations. However, the President’s rejection now means the bill will either be amended or dropped, depending on the response from lawmakers.
