By Our Correspondent

Nigeria’s House of Representatives Adhoc Committee set up to investigate alleged alterations to the tax laws have confirmed that the observations made by their colleague, Abdusammad Dasuki were true

The 7-man fact-finding Committee drawn from the minority caucus, led by Afam Ogene in a preliminary report disclosed that there were some alterations as alleged by Dasuki on the floor of the House of Representatives, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025

The committee’s findings also show that there were three different versions of the documents in circulation, particularly the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025

The contentious portions as observed by the committee especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 with a number of discrepancies from the version passed by the National Assembly and the version earlier published in the official gazette.

The discrepancies, according to the committee are obvious, going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House of Representatives.

Full text of the statement reads as follows:

Interim Report of the House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws on the Allegations of Illegal Alterations on the Gazetted Tax Laws

“Following public outrage over allegations of discrepancies between the Tax Laws recently passed and assented to by the President and the gazetted versions, after a vigilant member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised the alarm on the floor of the House, concerning the circulation of an authorized version different from the one passed by the National Assembly, the Minority Caucus in a statement on December 28, 2025, vowed to “unconditionally protect the independence of the Legislature and our democracy.” It noted 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.

“In furtherance of this patriotic pledge, the Minority Caucus, under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, on January 2, 2026, set up a 7-man Fact-finding Committee, led by Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, to help the Caucus get to the roots of all the issues surrounding the scandal. Other members of the committee, include, Hon. Aliyu Garu – Bauchi, Hon. Stanley Adedeji – Oyo, Hon. Ibe Osonwa – Abia, Hon. Marie Ebikake – Bayelsa, Hon. MB Shehu Fagge – Kano and Hon. Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan – Nasarawa.

“On January 3, 2026, the House of Representatives, through its spokesman, Rep. Akintunde Rotimi, released a statement announcing that the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., GCON, had directed the release of the four tax reform ACTs duly signed into law by the President, for public record, verification, and reference. 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
* The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025

The Statement read in parts: “Consequently, 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.”

Preliminary Findings:

1. 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:

a. 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;

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

c. 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.

2. The Contentious Portions, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, include:

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 are obvious, going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House referenced earlier.

i. Section 29(1): On Reporting Thresholds: While the NASS 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.

ii. Section 41: Introducing new subsections (8) and (9) prescribing a mandatory 20% Deposit for Appeals:
The gazetted version introduced new subsections 41(8) and 41(9), which required taxpayers to deposit 20% 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.

iii. 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.

iv. Section 3(1) (b): Definition of Federal Taxes.
While the NASS 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.

v. 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.

3. Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act.

(i) Section 30(1) (d), & 30(3): National Assembly Oversight Provisions.
“It is observed, with grave concern, that while the authentic version passed by NASS provided that NASS 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, in total disregard and disrespect of the institution of the National Assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances, an important bedrock of democracy.

“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.

“We appreciate the opportunity to serve the Caucus and thank the leadership for finding us worthy of the assignment.”