Presidency reacts to allegations of Tax Law alterations, says no evidence yet

The presidency has dismissed claims that it secretly altered some provisions of the newly enacted tax reform laws, insisting that no changes were made outside the established legal and legislative process.

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assented to the four tax reform bills in June, ending months of scrutiny and intense debates by lawmakers and Nigerians.

The four bills, now laws, were the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.

President Tinubu’s government picked January 2026 for the implementation of the laws.

But a few days back, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, raised the alarm over some alterations in the law, claiming certain provisions in the gazetted version were different from what was passed by the National Assembly.

A gazette is an official government publication that formally publishes laws and other legal notices after they have been approved by the legislature and signed into law by the president.

The gazette serves as an authoritative public record and is relied on by government agencies, courts and the general public as evidence of the law in force.

Dasuki said the gazetted copy of the law available to Nigerians does not reflect what lawmakers passed.

“What was passed on the floor is not what is gazetted. Mr Speaker, honourable colleagues, I was here, I gave my vote, and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” he said.

The lawmaker said he personally obtained copies of the gazetted law from the ministry of information and found that they differed from the versions harmonised and approved by the house.

“I am calling on Mr speaker to graciously look at what was harmonised, what is in the gazetted copy, and what was passed on this floor,” he said.

The legislator warned that the discrepancy amounted to a constitutional breach and urged the house to treat the matter with urgency.

“This is a breach of the constitution and a breach of our laws, and it should not be taken lightly by this honourable house,” he said.

Reacting, the presidency dismissed the allegations, insisting that there was no evidence that the laws had been altered.

Speaking to PUNCH, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Temitope Ajayi, said no amount of opposition pushback would stop the implementation of the laws in January.

He argued that allegations that the tax documents were altered had not been established by any constituted authority, describing the criticisms as “opposition noise” aimed at creating controversy around government policy.

According to him, the tax laws were enacted through due process and would take full effect from January 1, 2026, with relevant government agencies already mobilised to ensure smooth implementation.

“Opposition elements can say whatever they want, even when it is very obvious to every rational person that all they seek to do every time is to pollute the waters and create a toxic environment around policy issues,” Ajayi said.

He stressed that the implementation committee had been working for the past six months and would not be distracted by what he described as attempts to undermine the policy.

Ajayi further said claims of document alteration remained unproven, noting that the actions of an opposition member of the House of Representatives could not invalidate laws that had been duly passed and signed.

He added that the House of Representatives had already set up a committee to examine the allegations, led by the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Faleke.

According to him, the appropriate course of action is to allow the committee to carry out its assignment and present its findings.

The presidency maintained that the government would proceed with the implementation of the tax laws in line with the established timeline, regardless of opposition criticisms.

Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, ruled out any suspension of the implementation of the laws.

He said, “The House of Representatives, where this allegation emanated from, has set up a committee to investigate. We would like to wait for the outcome of the investigation before we make any comment. The House is already probing it; we don’t want to say anything that will subvert what they are investigating, whether it is true or not. We want to allow the House to do its work.

“The opposition is talking nonsense; the law has already been passed. The timeline for the implementation is January 1. In fact, the law is already being implemented, and by January 1, it will come fully into effect, so there is no point in demanding the suspension of the implementation. Some elements of the law are already being implemented.”