Worried by the number of bills denied presidential assent, the House of Representatives yesterday resolved to review the Peace Corps Bill and 21 other bills rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari. New Telegraph had last Monday reported exclusively that 173 members of the House have appended their signatures supporting the vetoing of president’s assent on the Peace Corps bill.
The decision of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Uzoma NKem-Abonta (PDP, Abia). Nkem-Abonta’s motion came through a point of order, in which he reminded his colleagues that 22 bills had at different times been transmitted to the president for assent. The lawmaker, who chairs the committee on petitions, urged the House to review the reasons given by the president for withholding assent to the bills.
“The constitution says the rejected bills will come back to the House for us to look at it, veto it or otherwise,” he said. The motion was unanimously adopted and Speaker Yakubu Dogara and consequently referred it to the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business ,Hon. Emmanuel Orker- Jev to schedule a date when the House will debate on the bills and take a decision on the next line of action.
Several members of the House had kicked against Buhari’s decision to withhold assent to the Peace Corps bill, considering that many unemployed youths were looking up to the corps to rescue them from the unemployment market. But the president had last week in a letter sent to the House of Representatives, rejected the bill to establish the Peace Corps, citing lack of funds and duplication of security agencies.
Order 12(b)(c) of the House Standing Orders and Rules provides that the rejected Bill could be looked upon by the House (through a motion) and if supported by two-thirds of the Reps, the Bill is proclaimed law without the assent of the president. The National Assembly is empowered by the provisions of section 58(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, to override the president on Bills.