Why Buhari Rejected Stupid Bills from National Assembly – Presidency
The Presidency has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected a high number of bills because he has to analyse such documents closely so that he will not sign stupid bills into law.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this on Monday when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Shehu, who accused the 8th Assembly of frustrating Buhari especially in the area of delaying the passage of the budget in 2018 said the President did reject many bills for the right reasons as he could not sign stupid bills into law.
Reacting to claims made by the Senate that it had passed 306 bills which is the highest number of bills passed by a legislative arm of government in Nigeria’s history while Buhari had the record for the highest number of rejected bills, Shehu said his principal was known to be meticulous with his work.
The Presidential Aide further disclosed that during the amendment for the minimum wage bill, Buhari drew up a list comprising ministers, stakeholders and even members of the judiciary to evaluate and agree with the contents of the bill before signing it.
He added that such painstaking processes take time but it helps prevent the President from signing stupid bills.
While noting that his boss is very methodical in dealing with matters such as this, the presidential spokesman said a President could sit in that powerful office and act like he knows it all.
“I think in this country, we have had such Presidents but President Buhari is different because whenever bills come for signature, he will ask that a long list of stakeholders be drawn up. For example, the minimum wage bill he which signed.
“Prior to that, labour groups had been demanding that he sign immediately but he refused and identified all stakeholders, ministers and even the judiciary were made to sign off on it and when this process is on, it takes a lot of time.
“Sometimes deadlines are issued and re-issued. However, the point is that at the end of it, a thorough job is done so that the President does not sign stupid documents and that is important for this country.”
