For Tinubu, Trust is Earned

The Advocate By Onikepo Braithwaite Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

The Advocate

By Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

Happy New Year, dear Readers. We thank God, for bringing us thus far. The year 2025 was definitely a mixed bag of the good, the not so good, the bad and the ugly, but I am uncertain about whether I can classify it as an ‘Annus Horribilis’, like I have done to the past few years. There was hope, but there was disappointment too.

Jos & Borgu Attacks

Unfortunately, the year 2026 hasn’t started on such a good note. Terrorists attacked Bum Community in Jos South LGA, Plateau State on New Year’s Eve, and nine people were reportedly killed. This was followed by another attack in Borgu LGA, Niger State, in which it was reported that over 30 people were killed and others, abducted.

These heinous attacks have almost become customary in Plateau State, during the Christmas and New Year season. In December 2023, many villages in Plateau were attacked, allegedly leaving at least 200 dead. Even as far back as Christmas Eve 2010, there were bombings in which more than 30 people were killed in Jos, leading to clashes between Christians and Muslims.

Knowing that Plateau State/Jos is usually a hotbed of violence during the festive season, security should have been beefed up there. Instead of proactivity, we have the usual reactivity, where all government officials rush to the scene of the incident after the fact, stay there for a few minutes and leave, only to return the same way when the next attack occurs.

As we begin 2026, if only Government would face the security and welfare of Nigerians which is the primary purpose of government (see Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria)(the Constitution)) with the same amount of determination, commitment, gusto and aplomb that it is facing taxation, all terrorists, bandits and violent religious extremists would be destroyed, and Nigeria would be a safer place for all!

Harmonised Bills and Trust

In part of his reaction to the protest about the Harmonised Bills on the new Tax Laws (Harmonised Bills) being different from what has been gazetted, President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, said “Absolute trust is built over time through making the right decisions, not through premature, reactive measures”. This is absolutely correct.

But, it is also true that trust is not built by deception, manipulation or opaqueness. Trust is built by bona fide, transparency, reliability, accountability, integrity, and owning up to and correcting one’s mistakes, not glossing over them. Additionally, in a democratic setting, trust is enhanced by upholding the rule of law, and having regard for the separation of powers (see Section 4-6 of the Constitution). Acting ultra vires one’s powers is not just a breach of the Constitution, but a breach of the trust of the people. See President, FRN & Anor v National Assembly & Ors (2022) LPELR-58516(SC) per Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, JSC where the Supreme Court held inter alia thus: “The President has no Constitutional or legal right or power, to request or compel the National Assembly to amend or make an Act. No part of the Constitution, gives him such right or power. One of the hallmarks of our Constitutional democracy, is separation of powers of government. The executive, legislative and judicial powers of the government of the Federation or of a State are separated, and each vested on each of the three main arms of government by Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution”.

In 2026, Nigerians want to see more regard for the rule of law from Government, and less arbitrariness.

National Assembly’s Reaction

One would have imagined that by now, the National Assembly (NASS) would have been at the Supreme Court, praying for a declaration that whatever purported tax laws are contained in the Gazette are invalid, seeing as they aren’t the Harmonised Bills that were passed by NASS – see Sections 232(2) & 58(4) of the Constitution. The Speaker of House of Representatives (HoR), Dr Tajudeen Abbas, GCON, however, ordered for a review of the Harmonised Bills with the gazetted version, in order that the authorised version be reproduced. The HoR has also released a copy of the four Tax Laws, that President Tinubu assented to.

A community reading of Section 14(2)(a) & (c) of the Constitution evinces the fact that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria through whom Government derives its powers via the Constitution, and that the people have a right to participate in their government. The people participate in Government, through their elected representatives – also see Section 4 of the Constitution. There was a lot of back and forth on the Harmonised Bills, sensitisation of the people on them, before they were eventually passed by NASS. Any attempt to change what was passed by NASS without following due process, no matter how good the reason or intention for doing so may be, not just renders any resulting law arising therefrom invalid, but is tantamount to truncating the will of the people.

The Morning Show Interview

I watched Arise TV’s Morning Show last week, and a Professor who was interviewed, stated that he was unable to get a copy of the Harmonised Bills – the document suddenly became a ‘Vanishing Thomas’, a needle in the haystack! But, he did state that he was able to obtain the proceedings of the HoR and Senate. He mentioned the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTA) in particular, and said he recorded about 28 discrepancies between the HoR proceedings and the Gazette’s version of the NTA – this is horrifying; of course, there were also discrepancies with the Senate proceedings.

This is certainly, not how to gain the trust of the people! By appearing to pull a fast one on them, when already, Nigerians are suspicious of these new tax initiatives. For the people, new tax initiatives usually means more money to be paid to Government, and less money available to them, no matter how well Government may try to coat the narrative. For Nigerian governments, taxation is always always the lowest hanging fruit to boost income/revenue, irrespective of whether the people are already in a bad place economically, like now. And, while Nigerians are not Nostradamus, to be able to predict whether these tax initiatives will end up being the best thing since sliced bread, with this ‘hocus pocus’ on the Harmonised Bills and Gazette, for now, at least, trust is bound to be eroded, not enhanced.

It doesn’t help that, most Nigerians do not really believe that successive governments (present company included) have their interest at heart. While the masses have always been paid minimum wages that are not living wages, contrary to Section 16(2)(d) of the Constitution, Nigeria’s N70,000 minimum wage translates to N840,000 per annum, though the tax net opens at N800,000 per annum. Considering the fact beyond income tax, there are other indirect taxes that people also pay such as VAT, it’s almost as if what this administration gave in the new minimum wage with one hand, is being taken back with the other hand! Meanwhile, Politicians and a selected few are living like kings and princes. This can never earn the people’s trust.

Corruption

As long as corruption persists on the scale that it does in Nigeria, there can be no trust between the people and Government. There will only be suspicion and scepticism. The people want to see their taxes working for them, not being syphoned into the pockets of public officials, and unless there is a remarkable shift from corruption, they will always view so-called tax reforms with misgivings.

Take the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, for example. Isn’t it ironic that, in 2016, using allegations of corruption as the ground, under his watch, judicial officers were raided in the dead of night, as if they were violent fugitives. Today, along with his son (age maybe early 30s), who until recently, was celebrated as one of the youngest successful CEOs in Nigeria, they are facing corruption charges involving properties worth over N200 billion and money laundering charges to the tune of N8.7 billion. I also read somewhere, that the son of the former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari (31/32 year old), now owns a 25% stake in Geregu Power. Where did they all get such fabulous wealth from? Sadly, this kind of ‘Unexplained Wealth’ is pervasive in government. This is only a tip of the iceberg, in terms of what public officials stand accused of stealing from the Nigerian treasury, and this kind of thing will only breed contempt, not trust, unless Government shows a true commitment to fighting corruption across board.

Passing a Bill and its Importance

By virtue of Section 58(1)-(5) of the Constitution, there are only two ways in which a Bill of NASS can become law: 1) the Harmonised Bill passed by the majority of both chambers, forwarded to the President is assented to by the President within 30 days of presentation; or 2) NASS re-passes the Bill and overrides the President, if he withholds assent. In both processes, there is an emphasis on the majority in both chambers passing the Bill, so much so that, when NASS chooses to override the President, the process of re-passing a Bill must be repeated before the Bill becomes an Act of NASS. This is the constitutional mandate of NASS (see Section 4 of the Constitution). The passing of a Bill by NASS, gives the law legitimacy; it is key – the difference between dictatorship/arbitrariness and democracy/representation, a check and balance on the executive branch.

There appear to be several scenarios, arising from this matter. Firstly, if the laws President Tinubu assented to are the Harmonised Bills, and it’s only the Gazette that was altered, then a new Gazette can be produced with the authorised version. But, if the President assented to the altered version, then this is different from the Harmonised Bills. It is tantamount to, the President not assenting to the Harmonised Bills. This would mean that the purported Tax Laws that are said to have taken effect on January 1, 2026 are invalid, and what is being implemented is unlawful; they are not Acts of NASS. See Akintokun v LPDC (2014) LPELR-22941(SC); Adamu v Akogwu (2023) LPELR-59522(CA). In this case, the Harmonised Bills must be re-passed and resent to the President for his assent, before they qualify as Acts of NASS. See Akintokun v LPDC (Supra).

Conclusion

In any relationship, trust is earned, it is certainly not automatic. Trust is not built by engaging rhetoric, but as President Tinubu said, by making the right decisions. It was not the right decision, for the Harmonised Bills to be altered without following due process. There was ample time between the period that the Bills were forwarded for assent and January 1, 2026 when they were scheduled to take effect, to remit any alterations to NASS for their consideration.

The Constitution doesn’t endow the President with the power, to override NASS and instruct that Tax Laws which are not Acts of NASS, should take effect, no matter what – see Section 58 of the Constitution, and President, FRN & Anor v National Assembly & Ors (Supra).

Like I said last week, the alterations to the Harmonised Bills border on the offence of Forgery, and whether the alterations are significant or not, is irrelevant. See the case of C.O.P. v

Anagor (2025) LPELR-82111 per Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike, JCA where the Court of Appeal held thus: “..I will avail myself of the definition of forgery from the Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th Edition at page 793 where it was defined as: “(1) The act of fraudulently making a false documwent or altering a real one to be used as if genuine. (2) A false or altered document made to look genuine by someone with intent to deceive. (3) The act of fraudulently altering, authenticating, issuing or transferring a writing without proper authority”.