House of Reps minority committee confirms alterations in gazetted tax laws
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus in Nigeria has confirmed that unauthorised alterations were made to key tax reform laws after they were passed by the National Assembly and gazetted, raising serious constitutional and legal concerns about the integrity of the legislative process. An interim report by the ad-hoc fact-finding committee set up by the Minority Caucus said its investigation found clear discrepancies between the versions approved by lawmakers and those later published in the official gazette, particularly in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025. The committee noted that three different versions of the Act were in circulation, and that the directive to “align” the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press indicated procedural anomalies in the gazetted version, which it described as an illegal encroachment on the National Assembly’s law-making authority. The report flagged specific alterations, such as lowering tax reporting thresholds for individuals and companies from those passed by the legislature, the addition of new subsections requiring deposit of disputed tax amounts before appeal, and expanded enforcement powers in the gazetted law that were absent from the authentic version. Observers say the issue underscores concerns about the executive’s influence over legislative outcomes, and the Minority Caucus has called for a deeper probe to ensure accountability and uphold democratic processes.
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