Why Jonathan has not signed bills – Presidency

 

The Presidency on Wednesday said President Goodluck Jonathan had not signed some bills passed by the National Assembly because he was still consulting on reservations made by stakeholders on some of the bills.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, gave the explanation while featuring on a current affairs programme of a private radio station, Raypower 100.5 FM.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwwal, had during a symposium, marking the last Democracy Day at the Presidential Villa, said it was disturbing to note that the executive had shied away from its responsibility by not assenting to bills passed by the National Assembly.

Tambuwwal said the situation had made legislative process cumbersome because some of the bills had to be re-introduced de novo.

Also on Monday, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, for the second time, criticised the executive for failing to sign certain bills passed by the National Assembly aimed at deepening good governance and democracy.

Speaking at a National Conference on Law Reform and Law Making Process organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies, Ekweremadu expressed concerns that too many bills were still awaiting presidential assent.

While admitting the existence of unsigned bills, Abati said discussions were already ongoing between the executive and the legislature on issues arising from the content of the affected bills.

He however insisted that notwithstanding the situation, there was no conflict between the two arms of government on the matter.

He said, “There are indeed pending unsigned bills but these are very few. Those bills are already being discussed both by the Executive and the Legislature because there are certain issues arising from the content of those bills.

“Because there is ongoing dialogue, the legislature has not found itself under any pressure to exercise any veto powers. There is some kind of understanding that there are issues that need to be addressed.”