By Gloria Ikibah
A Minority Caucus ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives has raised serious concerns over alleged illegal alterations to Nigeria’s newly gazetted tax laws, warning that the discrepancies uncovered amount to an attack on the constitutional authority of the National Assembly.
The interim findings were presented on 23 January 2026, following widespread public outrage triggered by claims that the versions of certain tax laws circulating in the public domain differed from those duly passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President. 
The controversy came to light after a member of the House, Rep. Abdulsamad Dasuki, alerted lawmakers on the floor of the House to what he described as the circulation of an “authorised version different from the one passed by the National Assembly”.
In response, the Minority Caucus issued a statement on 28 December 2025, vowing to “unconditionally protect the independence of the Legislature and our democracy”, while warning that “any attempt to foist fake laws on Nigerians” constituted a direct assault on the legislature’s constitutional role.
To get to the bottom of the matter, the Minority Caucus, led by Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, constituted a seven-man fact-finding committee on 2 January 2026. The committee, chaired by Rep. Afam Victor Ogene, was tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged alterations. Other members include Rep. Aliyu Garu, Rep. Stanley Adedeji, Rep. Ibe Osonwa, Rep. Marie Ebikake, Rep. MB Shehu Fagge and Rep. Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan.
Barely a day later, on 3 January 2026, the House of Representatives announced decisive steps to address the growing concerns. In a statement issued by the House spokesperson, Rep. Akintunde Rotimi, it was disclosed that the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, had ordered the public release of the four tax reform Acts signed into law by the President.
The statement said the move was aimed at “public record, verification, and reference” and added that the Speaker had also directed an internal verification and the immediate release of the Certified Acts “to eliminate doubts, restore clarity, and protect the sanctity of the legislature”.
The Acts released include the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025. According to the House, “the Clerk to the National Assembly has concluded the process of aligning the Acts – duly passed, assented to, and certified – with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity”.
In its preliminary findings, the Minority Caucus committee said a comparison of the Certified True Copies released by the House with the versions earlier gazetted confirmed that alterations had indeed occurred. The committee stated that “there were some alterations as alleged by Rep. Dasuki on the floor of the House of Representatives, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025”, adding that “there were three different versions of the documents in circulation”.
The panel described the directive to align the Acts with the Government Printing Press as “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 committee highlighted several contentious sections of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025. On reporting thresholds, it noted that while the version passed by lawmakers set the threshold at ₦50 million for individuals and ₦100 million for companies, the gazetted version reduced these figures to ₦25 million for individuals and ₦100 million for companies. 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”.
It also faulted the introduction of new subsections requiring taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of disputed tax sums before appealing tribunal decisions, provisions which it said “were not in the authentic version passed by NASS”.
Further concerns were raised over expanded enforcement powers, including arrest and asset sales without court orders, changes to the definition of federal taxes, and a clause mandating tax computations for petroleum operations in US dollars rather than “the currency of the transaction” as approved by lawmakers.
Similar issues were identified in the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, where oversight provisions granting the National Assembly powers to summon officials and demand reports were reportedly removed.
The committee said this was done “in total disregard and disrespect of the institution of the National Assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances”.
Given what it described as “the anomalies, illegalities, and impunity observed”, the committee concluded that the evidence uncovered so far justified a more extensive investigation. It has therefore requested additional time to conduct a thorough probe and ensure accountability “for the affront against the legislature”.
The committee expressed gratitude to the Minority Caucus leadership for the opportunity to serve, describing the assignment as a duty to democracy and the rule of law.
