Claim
Nairaland Forum and social media users shared a letter that claimed President Bola submitted a bill for the Regional System of government to the National Assembly.
Verdict
This claim is FALSE. In June, the House of Representatives clarified that there was no bill before it seeking Nigeria’s return to regional government either as a private member bill or an executive bill.
Full Text
Nairaland Forum, on 24 September, shared a letter that claimed President Bola Tinubu submitted a bill for a Regional System of government to the National Assembly.
A user @domack99 at Nairaland posted the letter and wrote, “Breaking News: An executive bill by President #Tinubu has been submitted to the National Assembly!
A move that will pave the way for the return of the “Regional System” of government in Nigeria!!!
Reacting to this post on Nairaland, many persons said the bill will go a long way in solving many challenges facing Nigeria currently.
FACTWATCH observed that this claim was also shared by Facebook users and in many WhatsApp groups.
Verification
First, this Fact Checker couldn’t find any report by reputable news organizations in Nigeria that confirmed that the Nigerian leader submitted the bill to the National Assembly recently.
Also, this claim is nowhere to be found after thorough checks on the social media accounts of President Bola Tinubu, the Presidency, and the House Of Reps.
FACTWATCH discovered that the letter was poorly written, no clear explanation of the bill and no signature attached to it.
In a report by ThisDay in June, the House of Representatives said that there was no bill before it seeking Nigeria’s return to regional government either as a private member bill or an executive bill.
Spokesman of the House, Hon. Akintunde Rotimi, said in a statement that the proposal circulating on social media is also not before the House Committee on Constitution Review as a memorandum.
The statement explained: “The House wishes to reiterate its position, educating the public that there are three main routes to proposing constitutional amendments in the House of Representatives.”
The routes, he said, include a member proposing a constitutional amendment bill, by individual citizens and groups submitting memoranda to the Constitution Review Committee, which should be submitted to the House and sponsored by a member as well as an executive bill to be submitted by the executive arm of government.
Check this similar report Here
Conclusion
Findings showed this claim with the letter that President Tinubu submitted a bill for the Regional System of government to the National Assembly was fabricated to misinform the public.
Credit: FactWatch
