The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has confirmed that discrepancies exist between the tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted by the Federal Government after presidential assent.
The lawmakers disclosed that parts of the recently gazetted tax laws were unlawfully altered, raising serious constitutional and procedural concerns.
This revelation was contained in an interim report released on Friday by the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws, which was constituted to probe allegations of differences between the tax reform Acts approved by lawmakers and the versions published in the official gazette.
According to the committee’s preliminary findings, a detailed comparison of the Certified True Copies issued by the House of Representatives with the gazetted documents already in circulation confirmed that alterations were indeed made. The most significant discrepancies were found in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.
The controversy began after Abdulsamad Dasuki, a member of the House, raised an alarm during plenary over the circulation of tax laws that differed from those passed by the National Assembly, triggering widespread public concern.
Following the development, the Minority Caucus, in a statement issued on December 28, 2025, pledged to “unconditionally protect the independence of the legislature and our democracy,” warning that the imposition of altered laws on Nigerians amounted to a direct attack on the constitutional authority of the National Assembly.
In fulfilment of that pledge, the Minority Caucus, led by Kingsley Chinda, on January 2, 2026, set up a seven-member fact-finding committee chaired by Victor Ogene. Other members of the committee include Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan (Nasarawa).
On January 3, 2026, the House, through its spokesperson Akin Rotimi, announced that Speaker Tajudeen Abbas had directed the release of the four tax reform Acts duly signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for public scrutiny. The Acts include the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.
In its interim report signed by Ogene, the committee stated that its findings validated Dasuki’s claims. It revealed that there were multiple versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, in circulation, confirming that unauthorised changes had been made.
The committee described the directive to “align” the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press as evidence that procedural irregularities existed in the earlier gazetted versions, which it said amounted to an illegal encroachment on the law-making powers of the National Assembly.
Highlighting specific discrepancies, the committee noted that Section 29(1) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which deals with reporting thresholds, was altered. While the version passed by lawmakers set thresholds at ₦50 million for individuals and ₦100 million for companies, the gazetted version reduced the individual threshold to ₦25 million. The committee described this as an attempt to unlawfully expand the tax net without legislative approval.
It also faulted the insertion of new subsections 41(8) and 41(9) in the gazetted document, which require taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of disputed tax amounts before appealing decisions of the Tax Appeal Tribunal to the High Court. The committee stressed that these provisions were absent from the version passed by the National Assembly.
Additionally, the committee observed that Section 64 of the gazetted Act unlawfully broadened the enforcement powers of tax authorities by allowing arrests through law enforcement agencies and the sale of seized assets without court orders.
Other concerns raised include the removal of petroleum income tax and VAT from the definition of federal taxes under Section 3(1)(b), which the committee described as an affront to the exclusive legislative powers of the National Assembly. It also noted that Section 39(3) of the altered version mandated tax computation for petroleum operations in US dollars, contrary to the version passed by lawmakers, which required computation in the currency of the transaction.
The committee further pointed out discrepancies in the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, where provisions granting the National Assembly oversight powers under Sections 30(1)(d) and 30(3) were deleted in the gazetted version. According to the report, the authentic Act provided for parliamentary oversight through summons, reporting, and accountability mechanisms, all of which were removed without legislative approval.
Describing the situation as marked by “anomalies, illegalities, and impunity,” the committee said the evidence gathered so far warranted a deeper and more comprehensive investigation. It therefore requested additional time to conclude its assignment while expressing appreciation to the Minority Caucus leadership for the confidence reposed in its members.
The development has further intensified debate over accountability, constitutional governance, and the sanctity of Nigeria’s law-making process.
