President Bola Tinubu yesterday declined assent to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Amendment Bill 2025 sent to him by the National Assembly.

This is the second time in two days that the president has withdrawn his assent to bills forwarded to him by the National Assembly.

He had last Tuesday declined to assent to the National Assembly Library Trust Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The president’s decision to withhold assent to the NDLEA’s bill was contained in a letter read on the floor of the House by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas at plenary.

President Tinubu, in his letter, cited constitutional and transparency concerns over a controversial provision that would have allowed the agency to retain a portion of proceeds recovered from drug-related crimes as his reason for declining assent.

He described the proposal as inconsistent with established legal procedures governing the management of forfeited and confiscated properties.

The president cited Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers him to withhold assent to legislation.

According to him, the amendment contravened the current legal requirement that all proceeds of crime be paid into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account, which is a central pool designed to ensure accountability.

He explained that the disbursements from the account to any government agency must receive presidential approval and must be cleared by both the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the relevant national coordinating body.