The Presidency has dismissed claims that it secretly altered some provisions of the newly enacted tax reform laws, insisting that no changes were made outside the established legal and legislative process.
This comes as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and several civil society organisations called for the suspension of the implementation of the laws.
The tax reform laws, which faced stiff opposition from federal lawmakers from the northern part of the country before their passage, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax reform bills into laws, marking what the government has described as the most significant overhaul of the country’s tax system in decades.
The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.
According to the Federal Government, the reforms are designed to simplify tax compliance, expand the tax base, eliminate overlapping taxes, and modernise revenue collection across federal, state, and local governments.
However, the laws came under scrutiny when a member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), alleged discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions gazetted and released to the public.
Dasuki, who made the allegations during plenary on Wednesday, insisted that the content of the gazetted tax laws did not reflect what members debated, voted on, and passed.
He warned that if not addressed, the alleged alterations could render the new tax laws legally vulnerable, as they lacked legislative approval.
Dasuki urged the speaker to ensure that all relevant documents, including the harmonised versions, votes, and proceedings of both chambers, were brought before the Committee of the Whole for scrutiny by all members.
Following the allegation, the House on Thursday constituted an ad hoc committee to probe the discrepancies.
The Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, underscored the seriousness of the allegations by announcing a seven-man ad hoc committee to investigate the claims and submit a report to the House for further legislative action.
Alleged alterations
The gazetted tax laws allegedly contained several alterations, making them different from the versions passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
According to a document made available to Sunday PUNCH by a credible source in the National Assembly who did not want his name in print, some vital provisions bordering on oversight and accountability, which were initially approved by lawmakers, were removed from the final Acts.
The document also showed that new coercive clauses, including arrest powers, garnishee orders without court approval, and compulsory USD computation, which were not part of the versions ratified by parliament, were included in the gazetted laws.
No evidence of alteration – Presidency
Reacting, the Presidency dismissed the allegations, insisting that there was no evidence that the laws had been altered.
Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Temitope Ajayi, said no amount of opposition pushback would stop the implementation of the laws in January.
He argued that allegations that the tax documents were altered had not been established by any constituted authority, describing the criticisms as “opposition noise” aimed at creating controversy around government policy.
According to him, the tax laws were enacted through due process and would take full effect from January 1, 2026, with relevant government agencies already mobilised to ensure smooth implementation.
“Opposition elements can say whatever they want, even when it is very obvious to every rational person that all they seek to do every time is to pollute the waters and create a toxic environment around policy issues,” Ajayi said.
He stressed that the implementation committee had been working for the past six months and would not be distracted by what he described as attempts to undermine the policy.
Ajayi further said claims of document alteration remained unproven, noting that the actions of an opposition member of the House of Representatives could not invalidate laws that had been duly passed and signed.
He added that the House of Representatives had already set up a committee to examine the allegations, led by the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Faleke.
According to him, the appropriate course of action is to allow the committee to carry out its assignment and present its findings.
The Presidency maintained that the government would proceed with the implementation of the tax laws in line with the established timeline, regardless of opposition criticisms.
Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, ruled out any suspension of the implementation of the laws.
He said, “The House of Representatives, where this allegation emanated from, has set up a committee to investigate. We would like to wait for the outcome of the investigation before we make any comment. The House is already probing it; we don’t want to say anything that will subvert what they are investigating, whether it is true or not. We want to allow the House to do its work.
“The opposition is talking nonsense; the law has already been passed. The timeline for the implementation is January 1. In fact, the law is already being implemented, and by January 1, it will come fully into effect, so there is no point in demanding the suspension of the implementation. Some elements of the law are already being implemented.”
Atiku, Obi, ADC, CSOs demand suspension
Meanwhile, Atiku and Obi have called for an investigation into the allegation of alteration of the laws, urging relevant authorities to clarify the circumstances surrounding the reported changes and ensure full compliance with due process.
They argued that an independent probe would help restore public confidence, stressing that transparency and accountability were critical in matters affecting national fiscal policy.
Speaking in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Atiku called for the suspension of the implementation of the laws pending a thorough investigation into the allegations.
Atiku, who spoke through his media aide, Paul Ibe, said halting implementation would allow for proper scrutiny by lawmakers and the public, and help safeguard the integrity of the legislative process.
“Something is wrong with this country. It is a very serious issue. Something has been appended to the law, and some people have gone ahead to alter it. This is falsification, and it is criminal. The big question is: what else has been doctored? What else has been falsified?
“This is dangerous, and it affirms the state capture the opposition warned about in our joint statement,” the former vice president said.
He also alleged that provisions not originally criminalised were later inserted to target political opponents.
Obi, on his part, described the development as a dangerous escalation from poor governance to outright abuse of the law, warning that the alleged alterations posed a threat to the Constitution.
Warning that public trust in governance was rapidly eroding, Obi argued that citizens could not be compelled to shoulder heavier tax burdens in an atmosphere of opacity.
The former Anambra State governor, in a statement posted on his X handle, described the alleged alteration as not merely an administrative oversight but “a serious matter that strikes at the core of constitutional governance and reveals the extent of our institutional decay.”
“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.
“These include an outrageous requirement for a mandatory 20 per cent deposit before appeals can be heard in court, asset sales without judicial oversight, and the granting of arrest powers to tax authorities.
“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. We cannot continue to ask citizens to pay more taxes while trust in governance collapses,” Obi said.
The African Democratic Congress, on its part, described the tax reform laws as “draconian”, calling for their immediate suspension to allow the legislature to determine the extent of forgery that might have been inserted, and to take necessary corrective action.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, warned that tampering with a piece of legislation after it had been passed by the National Assembly was an indication that Tinubu desired to concentrate all powers in himself.
The party also called for a public inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the criminal alterations of a duly passed law and to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to justice.
Meanwhile, the Take-It-Back Movement said it had begun mobilising Nigerians nationwide against the tax reform laws, describing the reforms as “anti-people and illegitimate.”
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the National Coordinator of the movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, described the alleged alteration as a continuation of impunity by the Tinubu-led administration, arguing that the policy was designed to exploit ordinary Nigerians.
“The law itself is primarily targeted against the people of Nigeria. This tax reform seeks to exploit about 90 per cent of the population,” he said.
According to him, the reform targets employers, entrepreneurs, young people, content creators and other informal workers, despite what he described as the government’s failure to provide basic services.
(Punch)
