ECONOMY
MINORITY CAUCUS ALARMS OVER POST-ASSENT TAMPERING OF TAX LAWS, CONFIRMS ILLEGAL ALTERATIONS TO ACTS SIGNED BY PRESIDENT TINUBU
The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has confirmed that some of Nigeria’s recently gazetted tax laws were unlawfully altered after they had been duly passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, raising serious constitutional and democratic concerns.
This revelation is contained in an interim report submitted by the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws, which was constituted to probe allegations of discrepancies between the tax reform Acts approved by lawmakers and the versions later published in the official government gazette.
The investigation followed nationwide outrage sparked by a motion raised on the floor of the House by Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who alerted lawmakers to glaring inconsistencies between the tax laws circulated to the public and those actually passed by the National Assembly.
In a strongly worded statement issued on December 28, 2025, the Minority Caucus pledged to unconditionally defend the independence of the legislature and Nigeria’s democracy, warning that any attempt to impose fake or altered laws on citizens amounted to a direct assault on the constitutional authority of parliament.
Acting on this resolve, the caucus, on January 2, 2026, under the leadership of the Minority Leader, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, inaugurated a seven-member fact-finding committee chaired by Hon. Afam Victor Ogene. Other members of the committee include Hon. Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Hon. Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Hon. Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Hon. Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Hon. MB Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Hon. Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan (Nasarawa).
The committee recalled that on January 3, 2026, the House, through its spokesperson, Rep. Akintunde Rotimi, announced that Speaker Abbas Tajudeen had directed the public release of the four tax reform Acts duly signed into law by the President. The directive also initiated an internal verification process aimed at eliminating doubts, restoring clarity, and preserving the sanctity of the legislature.
The Acts released include the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.
According to the committee’s preliminary findings, a detailed comparison of the Certified True Copies issued by the House with the earlier gazetted versions confirmed that unauthorized alterations were indeed made, with the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025 bearing the most significant changes.
The report disclosed that no fewer than three different versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act were found to be in circulation. It further noted that instructions to “align” the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press exposed serious procedural anomalies that amounted to an illegal encroachment on the exclusive legislative powers of the National Assembly.
One of the major contentious alterations identified was in Section 29(1) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, where reporting thresholds were drastically reduced in the gazetted version from ₦50 million to ₦25 million for individuals, and from ₦250 million to ₦100 million for companies, contrary to what lawmakers approved.
The committee also drew attention to the insertion of new subsections 41(8) and 41(9) in the gazetted Act, which compel taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of disputed tax assessments before appealing decisions of the Tax Appeal Tribunal. These provisions, the panel emphasized, were completely absent from the version passed by the National Assembly.
Additional discrepancies uncovered include expanded enforcement powers under Section 64, granting tax authorities the power to arrest and sell assets without court orders; alterations to Section 3(1)(b) redefining federal taxes by removing petroleum income tax and VAT; and changes to Section 39(3) mandating that tax computations for petroleum operations be carried out in US dollars rather than the currency of transaction.
In the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the committee observed that key oversight provisions empowering the National Assembly to summon officials and demand quarterly and annual reports were entirely removed from the gazetted version, a development it described as a blatant violation of the doctrine of checks and balances.
Describing the findings as evidence of anomalies, illegalities, and impunity, the committee stated that the issues uncovered so far justified a more extensive investigation to ensure accountability for what it termed a grave affront to the legislature and Nigeria’s democratic order.
Consequently, the panel has formally requested an extension of time to conduct a more comprehensive probe into the matter.
In the report, Hon. Ogene expressed gratitude to the Minority Caucus leadership for the confidence reposed in the committee and reaffirmed its commitment to defending the constitutional powers and integrity of the National Assembly.