Tinubu sends Education, Criminal Justice reform Bills to Reps, rejects two amendment bills

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted two executive bills to the House of Representatives, seeking legislative approval for reforms in senior secondary education and Nigeria’s criminal justice system, while declining assent to two amendment bills earlier passed by the National Assembly.

The President’s letters were read during Wednesday’s plenary by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

One of the proposed legislations, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to strengthen the administration and governance of public senior secondary education nationwide.

In his letter, Tinubu said the bill was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on April 30, 2026, and subsequently vetted by the Federal Ministry of Justice in line with constitutional and legislative drafting standards.

He explained that the proposed amendment forms part of his administration’s efforts to strengthen educational institutions and urged lawmakers to give it speedy consideration.

The President also forwarded the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, 2026, which seeks to repeal the existing Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, and replace it with a new legal framework aimed at addressing procedural, legal and institutional challenges within Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

According to Tinubu, the proposed legislation is designed to improve criminal justice administration, enhance institutional efficiency, speed up the dispensation of justice, protect society from crime and safeguard the rights of suspects, defendants and victims.

He noted that the new law would apply to the Federal Capital Territory and other federal courts while strengthening the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council.

The President said the bill addresses persistent shortcomings under the 2015 Act, including delays in criminal investigations and prosecutions, inadequate deployment of technology in court proceedings, weak coordination among justice sector institutions, ineffective case management and poor compliance monitoring.

Among the proposed reforms are the abolition of trial-within-trial proceedings for confessional statements through new admissibility procedures, the establishment of a National Sex Offenders Register to be maintained by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the creation of a Witness Support Fund for prompt payment of witness expenses, and the introduction of plea forms to simplify arraignment procedures.

Other reforms include mandatory timelines for courts to determine no-case submissions, wider use of written witness depositions to accelerate trials, enhanced judicial case management, restructuring of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council to broaden stakeholder representation, appointment of an Executive Secretary for the council, powers for the Attorney-General to issue implementation regulations, and measures to prevent retrials arising from the death, retirement or transfer of judges.

Tinubu urged the House to consider and pass the bill without delay.

Meanwhile, the President declined assent to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2026, citing constitutional and legal concerns over some of its provisions.

He acknowledged that while many of the proposed amendments were commendable, certain clauses sought to confer regulatory powers on the institute over private organisations and incorporated entities beyond its statutory mandate.

According to Tinubu, provisions requiring organisations to report procurement appointments to the institute, imposing sanctions on employers who appoint non-members to head procurement units, compelling organisations to notify the institute of staff removals, empowering the institute to institute legal proceedings against non-members, and authorising inspection visits to companies constitute unreasonable restrictions.

He maintained that the institute is not the statutory regulator of procurement practice in Nigeria and therefore lacks the authority to impose such obligations on independent organisations.

The President advised the National Assembly to review the identified provisions and retransmit the bill for assent.

Tinubu also withheld assent to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (Amendment) Bill, 2026, citing structural inconsistencies and drafting defects.

According to his letter, the bill failed to adequately reflect its principal objectives in its long title and contained drafting errors that should be corrected before it could receive presidential approval.

The House of Representatives is expected to begin legislative consideration of the two executive bills, while the rejected amendment bills may be reviewed in line with the President’s observations before being resubmitted for assent.