Peace Corps bill: Reps vow to override Buhari’s veto

The House of Representatives says it will override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the recently rejected Peace Corps Bill.

This means the House will exercise its power to make a passed bill to become a law, without the assent of the president.

The House’s move, however, will only be effective if a similar decision is taken by the Senate.

The decision to overrule the president was announced Wednesday by the House spokesperson, Abdulrazak Namdas.

He told journalists at the National Assembly that apart from the widely anticipated Peace Corps bill, the House will commence the process of overriding the president’s veto on nine other bills.

The bills are: A Bill for an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management; A Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Council for Social Works; and A Bill for an Act to amend the currency conversion, freezing orders act to give discretionary powers to the judge of high court to order for forfeiture of assets of affected persons, and a bill for an act to establish the police procurement fund.

Others are, A Bill for an Act to amend the environmental health officers council registration Act; A Bill for an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria; A Bill for an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Public Management of Nigeria; A Bill for an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Exports and Community Brokers of Nigeria; and A Bill for an Act to establish the Federal University, Wukari.

President Buhari, at various times, either rejected the bills or did not communicate his decision to the House after the stipulated 30 days.

On the Peace Bill, Mr Buhari said in a letter to the House that he would not sign the legislation considering its financial and security implications.

He also in 2017 refused to sign the bill establishing the University of Wukari, Taraba state, based on what he described as wrong use of some phrases in the bill.

The National Assembly is empowered by Section 58(5) of the 1999 Constitution to override the president’s veto on Bills.

The House requires 240 members to make up its two-thirds, while the 109-member Senate requires 73 members to veto the president’s assent.

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