Breaking: Reps Vote To Override Presidential Assent

Members of the House of Representatives have reinforced the powers of the National Assembly to override the President of the Nigeria in the passage of Budget and other Bills passed into law should he withholds his assent for 30 days.


Also, the members shut down the quest for devolution of powers from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent List.

The same fate befell creation of new states and alteration of existing boundaries.

The also voted for 35 affirmative positions for women in politics.

To strengthen the performance of various government ministries, the federal lawmakers also voted to compel the President to nominate his ministers and form cabinet within 30 days of his inauguration.

A component of the Bill seeking attachment of portfolios to the ministerial nominees also passed.

The developments were the offshoots of the ongoing voting on various amended items in the 1999 constitution.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari took almost 7 months before appointing his ministers, an issue that generated heated debate and controversy in the polity.

He also declined the give assent to the 2016 budget due to issues of padding.

This delayed the passage of the budget into law even after the National Assembly had finished work on the Appropriation Bill and passed it into law.

Meanwhile, the exercise is currently ongoing on the floor of the House of Representatives in Abuja.