President Muhammadu Buhari has declined assent to the Customs and Excise Management Act amendment bill.
This is the third time the President has refused to sign this bill sent to him by the National Assembly.
In returning the bill to the federal parliament, President Buhari raised observations on 24 clauses and the schedules in the bill as passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
The President said he disagreed with clauses 4(b), 7(2), 7(3), 10(1)(a), 10(1)(b), 12, 14(1)(g), 16(3), 17(4), 18(1), 18(3), 18(6)(c), 111(3), 165(5)(a), 170(1)(a), 171, 175(1)(2), 180, 181, 184, 189, 194, 279, 181 and the schedule.
Following the President’s refusal to sign the bill, which seeks to amend the 64-year-old Customs Act, the House rescinded its earlier decision on the clauses and committed the bill to the committee of the whole House for reconsideration and further legislative action.
However on Tuesday, the House reconsidered the clauses objected to by the President and approved their correction.
Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, who presided over plenary, said the bill was returned because of the observation made on the nature of the clauses by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
He told members that the required corrections have been made on the bill by the House Committee and will be resent to the President for his assent.
