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Three tax laws in circulation – Reps *Say, alterations, executive rascality
Executive rascality cannot be discountenanced in the alteration of the new tax laws passed by the National Assembly last year, the House of Representatives, said on Friday, as it claims that there are at least three versions of the document currently in circulation.
Victor Afam Ogene, spokesman of the House Minority Caucus, who initially unveiled the discovery of “illegal” alterations in the gazetted copies of the tax reform laws, earlier in the day, upped the ante later in the night, attributing the move to “overzealousness and executive rascality.”
A guest on News Night, a late night programme on ARISE NEWS Television, told his host that there were actually three versions of the document as a result of the decision of some people in the executive branch of government to tamper with the clean copy passed by the National Assembly.
Hear him: “You can easily point to overzealousness by some officials on the executive side, which in summary you could tag as executive rascality. A lot of times people think that when you bring executive bills, the bills should return to you as was sent.
“Then we should simply be – I don’t want to use rubberstamp – we cannot be garbage in garbage out. That is why 360 of us sit in that assembly, and there are processes in law-making – first reading – second reading – public hearings – then it comes back to the committee of the whole and then harmonisation between the House and the Senate and then the Clerk of the House prepares a clean-copy that is sent to the President.
“In doing so, ensure that it is what is passed by the National Assembly. This tax law went through all these processes. It is the duty of the executive to publish the gazzetted law. The Nigerian Printing Press is under the Federal Ministry of Information. So, it is their remit to publish the laws.”
Ogene, Chairman of the seven-member committee set up by the caucus to probe the alleged alterations, had initially raised the alarm about the alteration while submitting the interim report based on an initial signal by Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House on December 17, last year to that effect.
On December 17, Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the lower legislative chamber, alleged that there are differences between the tax laws passed by parliament and the gazetted copy available to the public.
The alleged alteration sparked public outrage, with some Nigerians calling for a suspension of the implementation of the laws.
On December 16, the leadership of the senate and house of representatives directed Kamoru Ogunlana, clerk of the national assembly, to work with relevant agencies in the executive branch in a bid to re-gazette the tax laws.
The tax laws are the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025.
On January 3, the green chamber released the gazetted copy of the tax laws for public scrutiny.
‘ILLEGAL ALTERATIONS’
Ogene said the directive of the leadership of the red and green chambers to the clerk to “take steps to align” the Acts passed by the parliament with the federal government printing press to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity is a “clear indication that there were some procedural anomalies in the previously gazetted version that illegally encroached on the core mandate of the national assembly”.
The lawmaker said Kingsley Chinda, minority leader of the house, constituted a committee on January 2 to thoroughly investigate the “scandal.”
He said the committee comprises lawmakers from the six geopolitical zones — Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Jonathan (Nasarawa).
Ogene said preliminary findings, based on a comparison of the certified true copies (CTCs) released by the house and the gazetted copies, indicated that the laws were altered.
“There were three different versions of the documents in circulation, particularly the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025,” the statement reads.
“The Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), 2025, has a number of discrepancies from the version passed by the National Assembly and the version earlier published in the official gazette. These discrepancies are obvious, going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House referenced earlier.”
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He said under section 29(1), the version certified by the national assembly set the tax compliance reporting threshold at N50 million for individuals and N100 million for companies, but the gazetted copy lowered the threshold for individuals to N25 million and altered the threshold for companies.
“This is a clear case of the executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net,” the legislator said.
In section 41, Ogene said the gazetted version introduced new subsections 41(8) and 41(9), which require taxpayers to deposit 20 percent of the disputed tax amount as a condition for appealing decisions of the tax appeal tribunal to the high court.
Ogene said the provisions were not included in the version passed by the national assembly.
He said in section 64, the gazetted law “illegally increased the powers of the tax authority to include the power to arrest individuals suspected of tax violations through law enforcement agencies, and allowed for the sale of seized assets without a court order”.
Ogene said in section 3(1)(b), the version certified by the national assembly defined federal taxes to include income tax, petroleum income tax, stamp duties, and VAT, but the gazetted copy removed petroleum income tax and VAT from the definition of taxes administered by the federal government.
“We consider this an affront to the exclusive powers of the national assembly to make laws,” he said.
The lawmaker said section 39(3) of the gazetted law was “illegally altered” to mandate that tax computations for petroleum operations be carried out in US dollars, contrary to the version passed by the national assembly, which provided that tax calculations be done in the currency of the transaction.
In sections 30(1)(d) and 30(3) of the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, Ogene said the version passed by the national assembly empowered lawmakers to summon officials, demand reports, and enforce accountability in line with their constitutional oversight role.
The lawmaker said the gazetted version deleted the provisions requiring quarterly and annual reports to parliament, describing it as a disregard for the national assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances.
“Given the anomalies, illegalities, and impunity observed, which clearly undermine the national assembly’s constitutional powers and democracy, the committee finds the current evidence sufficient to warrant a deeper investigation,” Ogene said.
“This will ensure accountability for the affront against the legislature. To achieve this, the Committee respectfully requests an extension to conduct a more thorough examination of the matter.”
“It demonstrates, in the clearest possible terms, that when citizens act with unity, clarity of purpose, and resolve, they can indeed move mountains.”
These were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reacted to Tuesday’s agreement of the 10th Senate to reverse the controversial provisions in the Electoral Amendment Bill, in which they earlier retained the discretionary provision of transmission of results of election electronically by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the coalition party, attributing the U-turn to the resilience of Nigerians, described the development as a victory for democracy and people-powered civic action.
Abdullahi, a former Minister, who called on Nigerians to stay alert and continue mounting pressure on relevant authorities until the amended bill secures presidential assent, is duly gazetted, and takes full legal effect, urged Nigerians to maintain eternal vigilance.
Following a groundswell of outrage across the country, regarding its initial decision to retain the 2022 provision and subsequent protests, which saw Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023 and Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor Rivers State, teaming up with a group of Nigerians on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, the Senate eventually bowed to pressure mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit elections to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), real time, but with a proviso to use manual collation only as a contingency in cases of technological failure.
Hailing the development, ADC stated that the recant by the lawmakers was beyond a simple legislative reversal, but a reflection of the resilience, alertness, and growing political awareness of Nigerians from all segments of society.
The statement, added: “The decision of the 10th Senate to urgently reverse the contentious provisions of the Electoral Amendment Bill that it passed is a significant victory for the Nigerian people.
“This outcome is not merely a legislative U-turn. It is a testament to the resilience, vigilance, and rising political consciousness of Nigerians across all walks of life. From street protests to digital campaigns, the Nigerian people have once again shown that sovereignty truly belongs to them.
“In the face of the ruling APC’s habitual disregard for due process and democratic values, the Nigerian people have reaffirmed their place as the ultimate custodians of our democracy.
“In this regard, the African Democratic Congress salutes the courage and tenacity of Nigerians. We commend every citizen who raised their voice, whether online or offline, to resist legislative mischief that threatened to undermine our electoral integrity.”
Calling on Nigerians to remain steadfast, stressing that the development represents only a step in the right direction, not the final victory, the party, added: “We must now ensure that this momentum is sustained until the amended bill is not only passed but duly assented to by the President, properly gazetted, and becomes an enforceable law of the Federal Republic.
“We must remain vigilant to ensure there are no last-minute betrayals or technical ambiguities, the kind that often lead to ‘stories that touch.’ Let this be a reminder that democracy does not thrive in silence or indifference. It demands participation, persistence, and sometimes, peaceful defiance.”
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Tuesday, confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has once again intervened to stem the political schism between the Rivers State House of Assembly and Siminalayi Fubara, the governor that would have led to the latter’s impeachment.
But the Minister, left a caveat – this is the last time the President would be making such an intervention – as he added that both sides would now have to work according to the terms agreed at the parley.
In the latest faceoff which started early in the year, 27 members of the assembly said to be loyal to Wike, had launched a fresh impeachment move against the governor – the third since he took office in 2023, accusing him of sundry infractions of the constitution including spending money without appropriation.
Fubara, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), last year, was believed to have run to the President for succour, whose intervention is believed to have halted the move.
Giving details of the rapprochement, Wike told reporters in Abuja, on Tuesday that the President playing a fatherly role stepped in to resolve disputes between the two parties.
His words: “He is very kind to the people of the state. If there seems to be any problem between the legislature and the governor, as a father, he really has to intervene.
“This is the second time Mr President is intervening and I believe by the grace of God that this will be the last time Mr President will intervene.”
Wike, who has since been linked to the crises from the outset and in firm grips of the lawmakers, also pointed out his own role in the matter, saying: “I have told them to obey Mr President and I know that they would not hesitate.”
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday finally sent the name of Usman Isa Dakingari, former Governor of Kebbi State to the Senate for confirmation as as a non-career ambassador after last month’s embarrassing mix-up in which his name suddenly appeared for posting to Turkey without legislative clearance.
Tinubu, in a correspondence conveying the appointment, which was read by Godswill Akpabio, said: “I write for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Usman Isa Dakingari as non-career ambassador,.
“Whilst I hope that the senate will consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously, please accept, distinguished senate president, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
After reading the letter at plenary, the Senate President, said the matter would be referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration and report back to the Committee of Whole within one week.
Electoral Act: Don’t go to sleep, maintain eternal vigilance, ADC tells Nigerians
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