President Bola Tinubu has refused to sign the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Bill, 2025 into law.
On Thursday, lawmakers read the President’s decision aloud during plenary at the House of Representatives. In his letter, Tinubu invoked Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to justify his rejection.
He objected to a provision in the bill that would allow the NDLEA to keep a share of proceeds from drug-related crimes. According to him, this contradicts current financial rules, which require all crime proceeds to go into the government’s Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account.
Tinubu emphasized that only the President, with approval from the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly, can authorize disbursements to recovery agencies like the NDLEA. He insisted there was no valid reason to change a system that ensures accountability through executive and legislative checks.
