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Why Buhari May Not Sign Constitutional Amendment Bills -Presidency

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The Presidency yesterday said that the Fourth Alteration Bills to the 1999 Constitution that have been submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari may not be assented to as the time for their signing has elapsed. President Muhammadu Buhari last Thursday signed an Executive Order to improve his administration’s fight against corruption.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang who disclosed this in Abuja, stated that any bills not signed till date must have elapsed. He said that President Buhari by now would have communicated to the National Assembly on the bills that have not been signed and why they were not assented to.
According to him, “Any one (bill) that the President has not signed as of today, and he must have written the National Assembly informing them, because the time allowed by law has elapsed. “It is no more available for signing. And I know that all (the bills) that were submitted, the President assented to some and sent the rest back to the National Assembly.
“Any one that has not been assented to, the time constitutionally allowed has lapsed and the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives must have been communicated.”
Recall that the two chambers of the National Assembly had proposed 33 amendments to the constitution but they were able to mutually pass 17 of the bills which were later transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for approval in compliance with Section 9 of the constitution.
According to findings, 12 of the bills that secured the endorsement of the two chambers upon return from the states were transmitted the to President for his assent. However, Senator Enang said, “His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has assented to Four Acts amending Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
“1. Constitution (4th Alteration) Act, No. 4 Section 121(3) is amended by providing for direct funding of the Houses of Assembly of the states’ directly from the Consolidated Revenue fund of the state. “And also, the funding of the Judiciary in the states directly from the Consolidated Revenue fund of each state by paying directly to the head of the courts concerned.
“This formally grants financial autonomy to the Legislature and the Judiciary in all the states of the Federation. “2. Constitution (4th Alteration) Act, No. 9.
This Act amends 134, 179 and 225 of the Constitution. This, in Section 134 (4) and (5) extends the time from seven days to twenty within which the independent National Electoral Commission shall conduct election between the two leading candidates in a Presidential election where there is no outright winner in the first ballot.
“And ditto Sections 179(4) and (5) in respect of Gubernatorial election, time is also extended from 7 to 21 days within which INEC shall conduct run-off election between the two leading gubernatorial candidates.
“Section 225 is amended by inserting a new Section 225A to stipulate the conditions and process under which INEC may de-register political parties. “3. Constitution (4th Alteration) Act, No. 16.
This alters the provisions of the Constitution to disqualify a person who was sworn in as President or Governor to complete the term of an elected President or Governor from being elected to the same office for more than one term. “4. Constitution (4th Alteration) Act, No. 21.
This alteration amends Section 285 of the Constitution authorizing the court or tribunal to suspend Ruling on preliminary objection or interlocutory issue relating to jurisdiction and deliver same at the stage of final judgment.

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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