…Caucus accuses executive of undermining legislative powers to widen tax net
THE Minority Caucus of Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Friday said its investigation confirmed that the tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly were altered after enactment.
The caucus accused the executive arm of government of illegally tampering with the laws, describing the action as a direct assault on the constitutional authority of the National Assembly and a serious threat to democratic governance.
In an interim report, the caucus, led by Mr Kingsley Chinda, said it constituted a 7-member fact-finding committee on January 2 to get to the root of the scandal following public outrage over alleged discrepancies between the versions of the tax laws passed by parliament and those later gazetted.
The caucus noted that its ad-hoc committee operated independently of the one set up by the House leadership. The committee is chaired by Mr Afam Victor Ogene, with members including Mr Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Mr Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Mr Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Mr Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Mr MB Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Mr Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan (Nasarawa).
According to the caucus, its committee compared the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the Acts officially released by the House – on the Speaker’s directive – with the versions already gazetted and circulated before the issue was raised. The comparison confirmed alterations, particularly in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, as alleged by Dasuki on the floor of the House.
READ ALSO: Nigeria has moved from padded budgets to forged tax laws – Peter Obi
The caucus further revealed that three different versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 were in circulation.
It said the directive to the clerk of the National Assembly to work with the Nigerian Government Printing Press to align the Acts—duly passed, assented to, and certified—to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity clearly indicates procedural anomalies in the earlier gazetted version. The caucus described these anomalies as an illegal encroachment on the constitutional mandate of the National Assembly as the sole law-making authority.
“This is a grave concern that will be thoroughly examined,” the caucus stated.
Context
In December 2025, a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, had alleged that there were discrepancies between the tax reform law passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted copy available to the public.
Dasuki, who represents Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency of Sokoto, raised a point of privilege on the floor of the lower legislative chamber during Wednesday’s plenary.
“What was passed on the floor is not what is gazetted. Mr speaker, honourable colleagues, I was here, I gave my vote, and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” he said.
READ ALSO: KPMG identifies numerous errors in new tax laws, calls for urgent review
The lawmaker said he obtained copies of the gazetted law from the Ministry of Information and found that they were different from the copies harmonised and approved by the House, while calling on Speaker, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, to critically examine what was passed by the legislators and what was gazetted by the government.
“This is a breach of the constitution and a breach of our laws, and it should not be taken lightly by this honourable house,” he said, warning that the discrepancy was a constitutional breach and urged the House to treat the matter with urgency.
In July, President Bola Tinubu signed four bills into law, which included: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill 2024, and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill 2024.
The new law, which will take effect in January 2026, will see salary earners who receive N1.3 milliion annually or below exempted from paying income tax. The tax law has reduced the company income tax (CIT) from 30 percent to 25 percent, while raising the capital gains tax from 10 percent to 30 percent.
Spearheaded by Mr Oyedele, a lawyer and ex-tax expert at Pricewaterhousecoopers (PwC), the tax laws will see more than one-thirds of workers in both the private and public sectors exempted completely from Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
