The interim report of the House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws has raised serious concerns over alleged illegal alterations to tax reform laws duly passed by the National Assembly, describing the development as a grave threat to constitutional governance and legislative authority.
The controversy follows allegations that versions of tax laws assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu differed significantly from those later gazetted and circulated to the public.
Despite official denials and attempts at damage control, the Minority Caucus said evidence uncovered so far suggests that the alterations either occurred under the watch of the Tinubu administration or were not adequately prevented.
The issue first came to public attention when Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki raised a motion on the floor of the House, drawing attention to discrepancies between the tax reform bills passed by the National Assembly, the versions assented to by the President, and those subsequently published as law.
What initially appeared to be a technical irregularity has, following legislative scrutiny, escalated into what lawmakers now describe as a constitutional scandal.
In response to public concern, the House Minority Caucus, led by Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, on January 2, 2026, constituted a seven-member fact-finding committee chaired by Hon. Afam Victor Ogene to investigate the matter.
According to the interim report, the committee compared the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the laws obtained from the National Assembly with the earlier gazetted versions and reached a preliminary conclusion that the laws were materially altered after passage.
One of the most troubling findings, the committee said, was the existence of three different versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, in circulation. The committee noted that this raised serious questions about the integrity of the legislative and post-legislative process.
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The report also referenced a directive by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, instructing the Clerk of the National Assembly to “align” the Acts with those produced by the Federal Government Printing Press. According to the committee, this directive implicitly acknowledged that the previously gazetted versions were defective.
The interim report detailed several substantive changes that it said could not be explained as clerical errors. In Section 29(1) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, reporting thresholds were allegedly reduced in the gazetted version from N50 million to N25 million for individuals and from N250 million to N100 million for companies, without legislative approval.
The committee said the changes appeared aimed at expanding the tax net without parliamentary consent.
The report further alleged that new subsections 41(8) and 41(9) were inserted, requiring taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of disputed tax sums before appealing decisions of the Tax Appeal Tribunal. The Minority Caucus described this provision as not having been passed by the National Assembly and warned that it could undermine access to justice.
In addition, the gazetted version reportedly expanded enforcement powers under Section 64, granting tax authorities powers of arrest and asset sales without court orders. The committee described this as a violation of due process and an excessive concentration of power in executive agencies.
Other alleged alterations highlighted in the report include changes to Section 3(1)(b), which redefined federal taxes by removing petroleum income tax and value-added tax from federal administration, and Section 39(3), which mandated tax computations for petroleum operations in United States dollars rather than the transaction currency approved by lawmakers.
The committee also pointed to alleged tampering with the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, where provisions granting the National Assembly oversight powers were reportedly removed.
According to the report, requirements for quarterly and annual reporting to parliament were deleted in the gazetted version, weakening legislative oversight and accountability mechanisms.
The Minority Caucus described the developments as an unlawful encroachment on the constitutional powers of the legislature, citing Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, which vests lawmaking authority exclusively in the National Assembly.
It stressed that once a bill is passed and assented to, neither the Executive nor any agency has the power to alter it.
The committee said the fact that the alleged alterations occurred under the current administration and were only uncovered through legislative scrutiny raised serious questions about accountability and institutional safeguards.
Consequently, the committee has requested an extension of time to conduct a more comprehensive investigation to determine how the alterations occurred, who authorized them, and whether they amounted to executive overreach or bureaucratic misconduct.