February 04, (THEWILL) – President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, notified the National Assembly of his resolve to withhold assent to the Federal University of Education Numan, Adamawa State (Establishment) Bill, 2024.
The President, in a letter to the leadership of the National Assembly, expressed concerns over Section 22 of the bill, which gives the Adamawa State Governor authority over the disposal of land belonging to the federal university.
Sponsored by Binos Yaroe, the lawmaker for Adamawa South Senatorial District, the Federal University of Education Numan, Adamawa State (Establishment) Bill 2024, was passed by the National Assembly in 2024 and forwarded to the President for approval.
Earlier, Senator Yaroe explained that “the President identified certain mistakes in the bill that needed to align with the constitution. For example, we mistakenly gave land authority to the governor instead of the President, who is the correct authority for the institution. We will amend the bill by replacing the governor.”
But the President, in his letter read on Tuesday at the plenary session of the House of Representatives by Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, emphasised that matters related to federal government-owned property, particularly universities, fall under the President’s jurisdiction.
“Under section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, I hereby inform the House of Representatives of my decision, made on December 23, 2024, to withhold assent to the Federal University of Education Numan Establishment Bill 2024, passed by the National Assembly.
“I am declining assent to the bill as Section 22 of the bill confers the authority to the disposal of the land of the university on the governor and not the President as it ought to be in the case of land belonging to the federal government”, the letter stated.
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