Tinubu rejects Adamawa varsity bill over land dispute
Nigerian President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Tuesday, rejected the 2024 bill establishing the Federal University of Education Numan, Adamawa State, citing Section 22 of the bill, which gives the Adamawa State Governor authority over the disposal of land belonging to the federal university.
The President’s decision to reject the bill was communicated in a letter to the House of Representatives, which Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu read out during a session in the Green Chamber.
The bill, sponsored by Binos Yaroe, the lawmaker for Adamawa South Senatorial District, was passed by the National Assembly in 2024 and forwarded to the President for approval.
The President, in his letter, emphasised that matters related to federal government-owned property, particularly universities, fall under the President’s jurisdiction.
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“Under section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, I hereby inform the House of Representatives of my decision, made on December 23, 2024, to withhold assent to the Federal University of Education, Numan Establishment Bill 2024, passed by the National Assembly,” the letter stated.
The President further clarified that he rejected the bill due to Section 22, which wrongly vested the authority to dispose of university land in the governor instead of the President, who controls federal properties.
“I am declining assent to the bill as Section 22 of the bill confers the authority to the disposal of the land of the university on the governor and not the President as it ought to be in the case of land belonging to the federal government,” the letter read in part.
Recall that at a forum in Mayo-Belwa Local Government Area of Adamawa State last week, Senator Yaroe explained that the President’s action wasn’t a complete rejection but a correction of clerical errors in the bill.
He said, “The President identified certain mistakes in the bill that needed to align with the constitution. For example, we mistakenly gave land authority to the governor instead of the President, who is the correct authority for the institution. We will amend the bill by replacing the governor with
The House, however, adjourned its session to Wednesday, February 5, 2025, in tribute to the late Deputy Whip, Adewunmi Onanuga.
Onanuga, who passed away on January 15 at age 59, represented Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, Ogun State, and chaired the House Committee on Women Affairs in the 9th Assembly.
Source: Vanguard newspaper
