Barely eight (8) months to the end of his administration, President Muhammadu Buhari has given presidential assent to twenty-two (22) bills to reposition the country.
This has however, generated mixed reactions among Nigerians. While some are commending his efforts, others are blaming him for the delay in assent to the bills.
TheFact Daily captures the following reactions on twitter:
@DJFrankwhyt: “For once, I really commend Buhari for assenting to the electoral act, although after much flimsy delays & public pressure. After all the back & forth reading, he signed it but took the Senate to court to challenge a section of the same electoral act.
No be JuJu be dat?
@Deen_____yaro: “And National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Natforce/Natcom) bill nko???”.
@emmafatboy: “The only Bill that will inject the young entrepreneurs into the industry is the FCCPC Bill cos it will fight deregulation and make every competitor in the space of business buckle up”.
@ChibuikeEliezer: “Electricity bill 2022 nkọ??? That one doesn’t need an immediate assent??”.
@Cyrilekpen: “Wetin we get from the previous bills …. absolute nothing. So another round of empty bill and amendments”.
@Ezeline: “They waited till election period to use it as a tool fool us into believing APC have Nigerians at heart,we know una game plan. If you want sign free meal bill we will resprocate what happened in Kenya…”.
The major Bills are:
− Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
− Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022, repealing the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended.
− Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022, which repeals the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 as amended in 2013.
— Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2022, which makes comprehensive provisions for the seizure, confiscation, forfeiture, and management of properties derived from unlawful activity.
− Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, 1993 (Amendment) Act, 2019, which will deliver increased revenues to the Federation.
− Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON (Amendment) Acts of 2019 and 2021.
— Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Bill, the first legislation in Nigeria’s history focused on curbing anti-competition practices; establishing the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
− Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Establishment Act, 2018
− The Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Act 2021.
− Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, signed into law in 2019. The Bill facilitates the identification, tracing, freezing, restraining, recovery, forfeiture and confiscation of proceeds, property, and other instrumentalities of crime, as well as the prosecution of offenders in criminal cases regardless of where in the world they might be.
− Act establishing the Police Trust Fund, which will significantly improve funding for the Nigeria Police Force (2019).
− Nigeria Police Act, 2020 – the first comprehensive reform of Police legislation since the Police Act of 1943.
− Repeal and Re-Enactment of the Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 – the first comprehensive reform since 1990.
− Not Too Young to Run Bill (2018) – a Constitution Amendment Bill, to reduce the age of eligibility for running for elective office in Nigeria.
— Nigerian Correctional Services Bill, 2019 – the first comprehensive reform of prison legislation in close to five decades.
— Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill, 2019 – the first anti-piracy legislation in West Africa.
− A Bill to grant financial autonomy to States’ Houses of Assembly and States’ Judiciary (2018).
− Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
− Finance Acts 2019 and 2020.
− The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
− Credit Reporting Act (CRA) 2017.
− Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act (STMAA) 2017.
