THE Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, says Nigeria has migrated from padded budgets to forged tax laws, noting that it is a reflection of how the nation has nosedived in values.

Writing on his X handle on Saturday. Mr Obi said the nation’s shame had continued to unfold, evident in the decisions made by its leaders, even at the highest levels of government. He noted that the shame was highlighted by a ‘deeply troubling’ and ‘frankly unacceptable’ discrepancies between what the legislature passed and what was ultimately published as law by the executive.

“This is not merely an administrative oversight; it is a serious matter that strikes at the core of constitutional governance and reveals the extent of our institutional decay,” Mr Obi said.

“We have transitioned from a Nigeria where budgets are padded to one where laws are forged—changes that impact taxpayers’ rights and, most importantly, access to justice. Even more alarming is the introduction of new enforcement and coercive powers that the House of Representatives never approved.”

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He said these included an outrageous requirement for a mandatory 20 percent deposit before appeals could be heard in court, asset sales without judicial oversight, and the granting of arrest powers to tax authorities.

“Perhaps most disturbing is the silence of the Presidency on a matter involving allegations of forgery, institutional sabotage, and abuse of process. Who made these alterations? All of this must be made public. Nigerians need to understand what was signed, what was passed, and what was formally recorded.”

He said the nation should not continue to ask citizens to pay more taxes while trust in governance collapsed, noting that Nigerians needed leadership that would follow due process, embrace transparency and accountability, while respecting the rule of law.

“No nation can thrive where laws are forged and silence replaces leadership,” Mr Obi said.

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.

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.

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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).