Tinubu: I Won’t Sign Central Gaming Bill, It’s Exclusively States’ Affair

·    Wole Olanipekun: Presidential assent decline is sign of respect for Supreme Court

Alex Enumah in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has assured that he will not assent to the Central Gaming Bill newly passed by the National Assembly.
Tinubu gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja during the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

He stressed that as a “constitutional democrat”, he knew where his exclusive legislative capacity started and ended.
The National Assembly had on December 2 passed the Central Gaming Bill aimed at giving legal powers to the federal government to regulate lottery and gaming across the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Displeased with the action of the federal lawmakers, the Attorney-General of Lagos State, through his legal representatives, the law firm of Wole Olanipekun, SAN, wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, warning against signing the bill into law, as doing so would be tantamount to disregard for the orders of the Supreme Court.
The apex court had in a judgement last year nullified the National Lottery Act on the grounds that it fell outside the legislative powers of the federal legislators.
Olanipekun had in the letter dated December 12, 2025, specifically urged Fagbemi to advise Tinubu not to sign the bill into law.

According to the senior lawyer, the new bill, as passed by the National Assembly, is illegal and unconstitutional, based on the apex court judgement, which held that the National Assembly lacked the necessary legal powers to legislate on lotteries and gaming, which is a residual matter for the state Houses of Assembly.
In what appeared to be a heed to the advice of the AGF, the president, at the APC NEC meeting, affirmed his desire to always obey the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
While noting that the executive and most members of the National Assembly belonged to the same political party, APC, he was blunt in telling them that the issue of lottery fell within the residual matters of the states.
“What I want you to forget is centralised lotto, go and read the constitution again. It is a residual matter,” Tinubu said, adding, “Residual Matters belong to the exclusive legislative matters of the states.”
The president warned proponents of the bill to desist from further actions as he was not going to assent to it.
The president stressed, “Don’t thread near it, there’s no need for us to argue. I am a constitutional democrat. Lottery, lotto law, centralized lotto, gaming, and whatever it is… I read it and that it was coming to me, I won’t sign it.”
Olanipekun had also in the letter reminded the AGF of the need to defend judgements of the Supreme Court, especially in the suit marked: SC.1/2008, between AG of Lagos State and others against the AGF and others.
He recalled that the apex court, in the unanimous judgement delivered on November 22, 2024, nullified the National Lottery Act, on the grounds that lottery and gaming fell outside the powers of the National Assembly.
He lamented that the National Assembly, on December 2, 2025, passed another legislation on lottery and gaming, termed the Central Gaming Bill.
Olanipekun stated, “We are further informed that the said legislation purports to repeal the National Lottery Act, as if same was an existing law that had not been nullified by the judgement of the Supreme Court. For emphasis and, as rightly acknowledged by your good self at the commencement of the Supreme Court legal year, the National Lottery Act ceased to be an existing legislation on November 22, 2024, when the Supreme Court delivered its judgement in SC.1/2008 and the National Assembly cannot subsequently purport to repeal what was/is already no longer in existence.
“Our client also informed us that the Central Gaming Bill purports to legislate online gaming and lottery, as well as gaming and lottery across state geographical boundaries. It also suggests that revenues generated will not be paid to the Consolidated Revenue Fund but be distributed by the Federal Government against the constitutional prescription for revenue sharing.”
The letter also stated that the apex court, in the judgement, “flatly rejected” the argument of the AGF and National Assembly that lottery and gaming were economic activities carried out online and across state borders.
Olanipekun expressed the conviction that Fagbemi will be disturbed by the action of the National Assembly in enacting a law, which had been nullified by the apex court.
He stated, “We are also confident that the AGF is very unlikely to support the situation where the Supreme Court invalidates an action as ultra-vires and the same litigant before the court, subsequently, re-enacts the same action which the court has found to be illegal and unconstitutional. It is worthy of note that, none of the constitutional provisions interpreted by the Supreme Court in SC.1/2008, has been altered or amended.
“It is in light of the foregoing that we respectfully implore the AGF to advise the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to decline presidential assent to the gaming/lottery legislation, now passed by both the senate and House of Representatives, after the Supreme Court has decided that lottery and gaming are outside the constitutional vires of the National Assembly.
“We urge the AGF to accept the assurances of our best regards, whilst hoping that our client’s legitimate request herein communicated is expeditiously acted upon in order to halt the constitutional breach and assault on the final judgement of the Supreme Court, where both the National Assembly and the Honourable AGF, were parties”
The AGF had at the beginning of the Supreme Court legal year on 22nd November 2024 described the court’s decision nullifying the National Lottery Act as landmark and acknowledged that by the decision, the constitutional power to legislate on lotteries was exclusive to the states’ Houses of Assembly.

In a telephone conversation with THISDAY after the president’s assurance that he would not assent to the new lottery bill, recently passed by both houses of the National Assembly, Olanipekun stated that he did not expect anything less from the president. He said the decline of presidential assent was a show of respect for the Supreme Court and the constitution. According to him, the judgement of the Supreme Court on the subject is a statement on the nature of Nigeria’s federalism and the powers of the federating units.

Olanipekun stressed that the National Assembly should not have embarked on the unconstitutional venture of re-enacting a federal legislation on lottery. He said Tinubu’s decline of assent to the bill showed the beauty of constitutional democracy. He lauded the fidelity of the AGF to the constitution and the president’s alignment with well-reasoned advice to decline presidential assent to the bill.