₦airaland Forum

President Bola Tinubu has declined to sign the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Amendment Bill, 2025, recently passed by the National Assembly.

In a letter addressed to the Senate and read during plenary on Wednesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu cited constitutional grounds for his decision, referencing Section 58, Subsection 4 of the 1999 Constitution.

The President explained that the primary reason for withholding assent is that the bill proposes granting the NDLEA the power to retain a portion of the proceeds from drug-related crimes, a departure from the current legal framework.

He clarified that under existing law, all proceeds from crime must be deposited into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account.

He added that any disbursement to relevant agencies involved in recoveries must be made by the President, and only with the approval of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.

President Tinubu emphasized that there is no compelling justification to alter the current process, which ensures transparency and accountability in the management of recovered assets.

U09ce:
If the funds will help fund the activities of the NDLEA, why not assent to it? No one needs to tell us that the agency is grossly underfunded. They lack vehicles and equipment. Their personnel appear poorly kitted. Almost all their state offices are derelict. They have few or no accommodation. How are they expected to work efficiently?

kolexy:
The things you mentioned can be appropriated for in the budget.

U09ce:
If the funds will help fund the activities of the NDLEA, why not assent to it? No one needs to tell us that the agency is grossly underfunded. They lack vehicles and equipment. Their personnel appear poorly kitted. Almost all their state offices are derelict. They have few or no accommodation. How are they expected to work efficiently?

kolexy:
The things you mentioned can be appropriated for in the budget.

hopexter:
If their salaries are not enough for them to work efficiently, they should resign. It’s not by force to work for government except you have ulterior motives which the NDLEA seems to possess.

TallNigerian:
I understand NDLEA's stance and I understand PBAT's stance too.

Retaining a part of the proceeds would have enabled NDLEA afford the increase of staff allowances and other operational expenditure without depending solely on the National Treasury, just as is obtainable with GOEs like NUPRC, NCC, NIMASA, FIRS and co.

However, Baba said it is unconstitutional as it runs against the provisions of the Constitution.

I think NDLEA just need good lobbyist both at NASS and The Presidency who can tweak that clause into something more acceptable while still achieving same objective at the end.

TallNigerian:
Yes, but bureaucratic bottlenecks make implementation of capital projects cumbersome. We saw how 2024 and 2025 budgets are now running simultaneously due to poor implementation of capital budgets mainly as a result of poor cash-backing.

The money you have at hand will always be easily accessible than the one someone approved on paper and promised to give you.

This same retention strategy is why EFCC is doing fairly well today.

Like I said earlier, NDLEA just need good lobbyists, that's all. No one is wrong in this regard.

Omooba77:
https://ait.live/pres-tinubu-declines-assent-to-ndlea-act-amendment-bill/

hopexter:
If their salaries are not enough for them to work efficiently, they should resign. It’s not by force to work for government except you have ulterior motives which the NDLEA seems to possess.