By Ayomide Otitoju
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws has confirmed that unauthorized changes were made to some tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu, raising concerns about constitutional breaches and legislative integrity.
The committee disclosed the findings in an interim report on alleged discrepancies between the versions of the laws passed by parliament and those later published in the official gazette. The issue came to light after House member Abdulsamad Dasuki raised an alarm during plenary over circulation of a tax law version that differed from the one passed by lawmakers.
Following the allegations, the Minority Caucus, led by Kingsley Chinda, formed a seven-member ad-hoc committee on January 2, 2026, chaired by Afam Ogene, to investigate the matter. The panel includes Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Jonathan (Nasarawa).
The committee noted that on January 3, 2026, the House, through spokesman Akintunde Rotimi, announced that Speaker Abbas Tajudeen had directed the public release of Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the four tax reform Acts signed into law: the Nigeria Tax Act 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025; and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act 2025. The Clerk of the National Assembly was also instructed to ensure the Acts aligned with the Federal Government Printing Press to guarantee accuracy and uniformity.
Upon comparison of the Certified True Copies with the previously gazetted versions, the committee confirmed “that there were some alterations as alleged by Dasuki, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.”
The report highlighted multiple discrepancies, including:
Reporting thresholds: The NASS-certified version set ₦50 million for individuals and ₦100 million for companies, while the gazetted version lowered thresholds to ₦25 million and ₦100 million respectively.
New subsections 41(8) and 41(9): Introduced a mandatory 20% deposit for Tax Appeal Tribunal appeals, absent in the authentic version.
Enforcement powers (Section 64): Gazetted law expanded the tax authority’s power to arrest and sell assets without a court order.
Definition of federal taxes (Section 3(1)(b)): Gazetted version removed petroleum income tax and VAT.
Currency of tax computation (Section 39(3)): Gazetted Act mandated US dollar calculations for petroleum operations, contrary to the NASS-approved version.
National Assembly oversight provisions (Sections 30(1)(d) & 30(3)): Gazetted version deleted mandatory reporting of Nigeria Revenue Services to Parliament, undermining legislative oversight.
The committee described these alterations as “an affront to the exclusive powers of the National Assembly” and said the evidence warrants deeper investigation to ensure accountability and uphold the constitutional role of the legislature. It requested an extension to conduct a more thorough examination of the matter.
President Tinubu had assented to the four tax reform bills in June 2025. The presidency stated that the new laws are expected to transform tax administration, enhance revenue generation, improve the business environment, and attract domestic and foreign investment.
