Presidential Candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has received an embarrassing public lecture from the Presidency on the legislative process involving Bill passage after betraying an indicting ignorance on social media with a hurried and ill-advised call to the President to sign the recently-passed Startup Bill into law.
Atiku had in a tweet commended the two chambers of the National Assembly over the bi-partisan effort that enabled the passage of the Bill, ending it with a call to the president to sign the Bill into law.
Offering a swift response, the Presidency set the records straight, educating the presidential candidate that “The President can only sign the Bill AFTER it has been transmitted from the National Assembly.”
It also added, “that the #NigeriaStartupBill is an Executive Bill, championed by the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy; and when assented to, will be one of President Buhari’s major legacies.”
Indeed, the Bill represents a culmination of the Buhari’s administration targeted investments and efforts to grow Nigeria’s digital economy, a sector that has recorded significant growth and attracted global attention.
Atiku’s faux pas and unsuccessful attempt to score a cheap political point with a widely acclaimed government achievement have earned him bristling criticism from Nigerians who questioned his capacity for leadership if he is ignorant of the basic legislative process and the separation of powers that governs the relationship between the different arms of government.