House Caucus Insists Gazetted Tax Law Altered to Undermine Legislative Powers

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has insisted that the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025, has a number of discrepancies from the version passed by the National Assembly and the version earlier published in the official gazette.

It maintained that these discrepancies were obvious going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House.

The caucus pointed out that the alterations were a clear case of the Executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net.

The caucus made its views known in the Interim Report of the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on tax laws on the allegations of illegal alterations on the gazetted tax laws.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Afam Ogene, in a statement issued yesterday recalled that the committee unconditionally vowed to protect the independence of the legislature and the country’s democracy.

He further recalled that the caucus said that any attempt to foist fake laws on Nigerians was an attack on the independence and constitutional role of the National Assembly in safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.

Ogene said this followed public outrage over allegations of discrepancies between the Tax Laws recently passed and assented to by the President and the gazetted versions, after Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised the alarm on the floor of the House, concerning the circulation of an authorised version different from the one passed by the National Assembly.

In furtherance of this patriotic pledge, he stressed that the Minority Caucus, under the leadership of Hon. Kingsley Chinda, on January 2, 2026, set up a seven-man Fact-finding Committee to help the Caucus get to the roots of all the issues surrounding the scandal.

He added that other members of the committee, include, Hon. Aliyu Garu, Hon. Stanley Adedeji, Hon. Ibe Osonwa, Hon. Marie Ebikake, Hon. Shehu Fagge  and Hon. Gbefwi Jonathan.

Ogene also recalled that on January 3, 2026, the House, through its spokesman, Hon. Akintunde Rotimi, released a statement announcing that the Speaker, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, had directed the release of the four tax reform Acts duly signed into law by the President, for public record, verification, and reference.

He said the statement further added that the Speaker has also ordered an internal verification and immediate public release of the Certified Acts to eliminate doubts, restore clarity, and protect the sanctity of the legislature. The four Acts thus released included: 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.

Ogene stated, “By comparing the Certified True Copies of the Acts released officially by the House of Representatives as directed by the Speaker, with the already gazetted version already in circulation before the alarm was raised by the House, the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee can confirm thus:

“That there were some alterations as alleged by Hon. Dasuki on the floor of the House of Representatives, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025;

“There were three different versions of the documents in circulation, particularly the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025;

“The order to the Clerk of the National Assembly, to take steps to “aligning the Acts – duly passed, assented to, and certified – with the federal government Printing Press to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity,” is 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, as the only organ of government constitutionally empowered to make laws for the good of the people, as prescribed.

“This is a grave concern that would be deeply looked into.”

Ogene explained that the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), 2025, has a number of discrepancies from the version passed by the National Assembly and the version earlier published in the official gazette.

These discrepancies, he noted, were obvious going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House referenced earlier.

He added: “Section 29(1): On Reporting Thresholds: While the National Assembly Certified version provided for a tax compliance reporting threshold of N50 million for individuals and N100 million for companies, the gazetted version lowered the reporting thresholds for individuals to (N25 million from N50 million) and (N100 million from N250 million) for companies. This is a clear case of the Executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net.

“Section 41: Introducing new subsections (8) and (9) prescribing a mandatory 20 per cent Deposit for Appeals:

The gazetted version introduced new subsections 41(8) and 41(9), which required taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of the disputed tax amount as a condition for appealing Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) decisions to the High Court.

“These sections were not in the authentic version passed by NASS.

“Section 64: Enforcement and Power of Arrest.

The gazetted law illegally increased the powers of the tax authority to include the power to arrest individuals suspected of tax violations through law enforcement agencies, and allowed for the sale of seized assets without a court order.

“Section 3(1) (b): Definition of Federal Taxes.

While the National Assembly Certified version defines Federal taxes to include Income Tax, Petroleum income tax, Stamp duties, and VAT, the gazetted version removed petroleum income tax and VAT from the definition of taxes under the federal government’s administration.

“We consider this an affront to the exclusive powers of the National Assembly to make laws.

“Section 39(3): Currency of Tax Computation.

The illegally altered gazetted Act mandated that tax computations for petroleum operations be made in US Dollars.

“But in the actual version passed by the National Assembly, it prescribed tax calculations in the currency of the transaction.”

Ogene noted that in the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, Section 30(1) (d), & 30(3): under the National Assembly Oversight Provisions, it was observed, with grave concern, that while the authentic version passed by National Assembly provided that National Assembly can summon, demand reports or enforce accountability in line with its constitutional role of oversight, the altered gazetted version curiously deleted this provision requiring quarterly and annual reporting to parliament regarding the Nigeria Revenue Services.

This, he said, was done in total disregard and disrespect of the institution of the National Assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances, an important bedrock of democracy.

Ogene insisted that: “Given the anomalies, illegalities, and impunity observed, which clearly undermine the National Assembly’s constitutional powers and democracy, the Committee finds the current evidence sufficient to warrant a deeper investigation.

“This will ensure accountability for the affront against the legislature. To achieve this, the Committee respectfully requests an extension to conduct a more thorough examination of the matter.”