Reps Committee Confirm Alterations in Tax Reform Laws
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee investigating alleged distortions of Nigeria’s tax laws has confirmed that some of the recently passed tax reform laws were illegally altered.
The committee highlighted the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, as the law most affected by the changes.
The confirmation was disclosed on Friday in an interim report examining discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those published in the official gazette.
The controversy began after House member Abdulsamad Dasuki raised concerns about the circulation of altered versions of the tax laws that differed from what lawmakers had approved.
Following this, the Minority Caucus, in a statement on December 28, 2025, pledged to “unconditionally protect the independence of the legislature and our democracy,” warning that attempts to circulate fake laws amounted to an attack on the National Assembly’s constitutional role.
In line with this, the caucus, led by Kingsley Chinda, formed a seven-member fact-finding committee on January 2, 2026, chaired by Victor Ogene. Other members include Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan (Nasarawa).
On January 3, the House, through spokesman Akin Rotimi, announced that Speaker Tajudeen Abbas had directed the release of four tax reform Acts signed into law by President Bola Tinubu for public verification. The Acts are: Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.
In its preliminary findings, the committee said a comparison of the certified copies released by the House with the gazetted versions confirmed Dasuki’s allegations.
The report noted, “There were some alterations as alleged, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025. Three different versions of the documents were in circulation.”
The committee criticised the directive to “align” the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press, calling it “a clear indication of procedural anomalies in the previously gazetted version that illegally encroached on the core mandate of the National Assembly.”
Several discrepancies were identified. Section 29(1) on reporting thresholds, for example, showed that while the certified version set N50 million for individuals and N100 million for companies, the gazetted version reduced the individual threshold to N25 million instead of N250 million.
The committee described this as “a clear case of the executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net.”
The introduction of new subsections 41(8) and 41(9) in the gazetted version, imposing a mandatory 20 per cent deposit on disputed tax sums for High Court appeals, was also flagged as unauthorised.
Additionally, Section 64 expanded tax authorities’ enforcement powers to allow arrests and asset seizures without a court order.
The committee further criticised the removal of petroleum income tax and VAT from the definition of federal taxes in Section 3(1)(b), and noted that Section 39(3) mandated petroleum tax computation in US dollars instead of “in the currency of the transaction,” as originally passed.
Concerns were also raised about the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act.
Sections 30(1)(d) and 30(3), which provided for National Assembly oversight, were deleted in the gazetted version, eliminating quarterly and annual reporting requirements.
The committee described this as “a total disregard for the institution of the National Assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances.”
Given the “anomalies, illegalities, and impunity” undermining constitutional powers, the committee said the evidence warrants deeper investigation and requested more time to complete its examination.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
