Spokesman of the 7th Assembly, Mr Zakari Mohammed, has informed Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms in Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, that there is no such thing as ‘draft gazette’ but only ‘signed gazette,’ stressing that Nigerians cannot be sacrificed on the altar of tax reforms.
Mr Mohammed was reacting to controversies sorrounding the alterations in Nigerian tax laws, where a lawmaker claimed that what was debated on the floor of the National Assembly was not what was gazetted.
In his open letter to Mr. Oyedele, the ex-lawmaker said that the tax czar’s public admission that a so-called ‘draft gazette’ existed alongside a ‘final gazette’ was not just a harmless slip of language but a grave confession of procedural recklessness.
“In all my years of legislative engagement and parliamentary practice, I know of only one gazette recognized by law:a gazette that is duly signed, sealed, and published. Anything else is internal paperwork, executive drafting, or administrative speculation, not law,” he said.
“Under Section 1(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Constitution is supreme, and any act inconsistent with it is void. The Supreme Court settled this principle emphatically in A.G. Federation v. Abubakar (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1041) 1, holding that constitutional supremacy admits no administrative shortcuts, no matter how well intentioned,” Mr Mohammed noted.
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He explained that gazettes would not exist in versions as they were not provisional promises or policy drafts for selective circulation. They were, according to him, conclusive legal instruments deriving authority from a law that had completed the full constitutional journey.
“To suggest otherwise is to blur the boundary between lawful governance and executive improvisation. The ex-legislator said that legislative authority in Nigeria was not shared, borrowed, or implied,” he said, noting that it was exclusive.
He cited Section 4(1) of the Constitution which “provides clearly that legislative powers are vested in the National Assembly.”
According to him, “The Supreme Court reaffirmed this in A.G. Abia State v. A.G. Federation (2002) 6 NWLR (Pt. 763) 264, where it warned that any encroachment by the executive into legislative territory amounts to a constitutional violation, regardless of motive or urgency.”
He said it was deeply troubling to hear insinuations that substantive provisions circulated before committee deliberations, and that reports were prepared before committees even convened.
He noted that such did not amount to reforms but institutional impersonation, stating that when executive actors pre-wrote committee outcomes, they usurped powers reserved exclusively for the legislature, in direct violation of Sections 4, 58, and 59 of the Constitution.
“As the Supreme Court held in Inakoju v. Adeleke (2007) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1025) 423, separation of powers is not decorative. It is the spine of constitutional democracy. Once that spine is bent, governance collapses into arbitrariness.”
Mr Mohammed further said that a bill might receive presidential assent under Section 58(4) of the Constitution, but its assent would not cure a broken process.
The Supreme Court, he said, had repeatedly held that failure to comply with constitutional procedure invalidated the outcome, no matter how polished the final product appeared.
“In A.G. Lagos State v. A.G. Federation (2004) 18 NWLR (Pt. 904) 1,” he cited, “the Court ruled that procedural compliance is mandatory, and that constitutional steps cannot be presumed, improvised, or retrospectively justified.”
“Similarly, in Adesanya v. President of Nigeria (1981) 5 SC 112, the Court warned that constitutional power must be exercised strictly in the manner prescribed, not as expediency dictates.”
He further explained that pocedure was not the same as bureaucracy as it was more about legitimacy. The ex-lawmaker said taxation without trust amounted to constitutional coecion, noting that the claim that delaying the commencement of this tax law beyond January 2026 would ‘hurt Nigeria’ was misleading, wicked, cruel, and profoundly insensitive.
“Nigerians are not fiscal abstractions. They are parents skipping meals.Workers trapped in transport poverty. Small businesses closing weekly. Citizens paying more for survival than for living. The Supreme Court in R. v. Princewill (1963) 1 All NLR 54 warned against the arbitrary exercise of state power under the guise of legality, holding that law must serve justice, not oppression,” Mr Mohammed noted.
He added that a tax regime prioritising speed over suffering had lost its moral and constitutional compass, noting that haste had not constitutional value.
“Mr. Oyedele knows as all serious policy actors know that: Tax legitimacy flows from trust, not urgency, from production, not pressure, from social consent, not elite insulation.
“In Military Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt. 18) 621, the Supreme Court warned that once government abandons restraint and due process, it invites chaos and public resistance. To insist on speed where process is broken is to weaponize technocracy against the people. That is not reform. It is coercion dressed in policy language.”
He reminded Mr Oyedele that records outlived power, while history was unforgiving, and power would always expire but judgments would remain.
“Archives do not forget. Long after offices are vacated, records will show who defended constitutional order and who rationalized abuse in the name of efficiency. Most of those driving these policies profess faith,Islam or Christianity. Let it be remembered: God’s judgment requires no consultants, no fiscal models, and no executive memos. It weighs intent, justice, and compassion.”
He concluded that this moment demanded reflection, not arrogance; restraint, not haste; and humanity, not spreadsheets.
“Nigeria does not need clever taxation. Nigeria needs constitutional fidelity, lawful governance, moral leadership, and mercy for its people.”
Context
On Wednesday, 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.
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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.
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.
On Monday, Mr Oyedele dismissed claims that Nigeria’s new tax laws were altered after passage by the National Assembly, noting that the controversy was misinformation targeted at creating fear and stifling the implementation of reforms scheduled to begin on January 1, 2026.
Mr Oyedele said that after drafting, the bills went through legislative scrutiny by both chambers, followed by harmonisation. According to him, his post-harmonisation role was limited to checking whether the policy direction had been substantially altered in a way that might require the president to withhold assent.
“There was a reference to a provision that I know was not in the final gazette but was in the draft. When I reached out, I was told the committee had not even met. Some people decided to write a report before the committee met, and it circulated everywhere,” he said.
