Tax Reforms Controversy: House Minority Caucus demands suspension, alleges alteration of Laws

By Christiana Ekpa

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has called for the immediate suspension of the implementation of Nigeria’s newly enacted tax reform laws amid allegations that the versions circulated to the public may have been unlawfully altered after passage by the National Assembly.
The Caucus, in a press statement issued in Anuja, and signed by Minority Leader, Rep. O.K. Chinda; Minority Whip, Rt. Hon. Ali Isa J.C., Deputy Minority Leader, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Madaki; and Deputy Minority Whip, Rt. Hon. George Ozodinobi, expressed “great consternation and disappointment” over the controversy surrounding the tax laws, which were passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Minority Caucus said the issue has gone beyond routine disagreement, noting that allegations of fraudulent alteration, gazetting and circulation of the laws strike at the heart of legislative integrity and democratic governance.
Also, the lawmakers disclosed that the matter was raised on the floor of the House during a recent plenary, prompting the inauguration of a high-powered investigative committee to probe claims that the tax laws were altered after presidential assent.
According to the caucus, the National Assembly remains the lawful custodian of all authentic Acts of Parliament, as the gazetting process begins with the Clerk to the National Assembly transmitting verified copies to the appropriate federal agency.
Furthermore, they warned Nigerians to disregard any version of the tax laws not bearing the signatures of the Clerk to the National Assembly and the President, stressing that such documents did not originate from the legislature and do not reflect what was duly passed and signed into law.
The caucus described any attempt to impose “fake laws” on Nigerians as an attack on the independence and constitutional role of the National Assembly, vowing to defend the legislature and Nigeria’s democracy.
Consequently, the Minority Caucus formally called on the Federal Government to suspend the implementation of the tax reform laws until investigations are concluded and there is clarity on the authentic version of the law.
They also emphasized that Nigerians and the business community are entitled to access the correct and duly enacted copies of laws they are expected to comply with.