President Bola Tinubu has declined to sign the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Amendment Bill, 2025, recently passed by the National Assembly.
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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, made this known during plenary on Thursday. He informed lawmakers that the President refused assent to the bill due to its inconsistency with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
The bill had sought to empower the NDLEA to retain a share of proceeds from drug-related crimes. However, President Tinubu objected to this clause, citing Section 58, Subsection 4 of the Constitution, which mandates that all proceeds from crimes be deposited into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account.
The President further explained that any allocation of such funds to relevant agencies must receive the approval of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly, and be disbursed by the President.
With Tinubu’s refusal to assent, the bill will either be dropped or reconsidered by the lawmakers.
