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Shari’ah Council, Lawmakers Raise Alarm Over Grave Discrepancies in Gazetted Tax Laws

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"bMXpMMYk" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa<&sol;p><div class&equals;"ZSnHfF9K" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria &lpar;SCSN&rpar; has demanded for a probe into the discrepancies between the tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the one gazzated and signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hon&period; Abdulsammad Dasuki &lpar;PDP Sokoto&rpar;&comma; a member of the House of Representatives&comma; on Wednesday&comma; raised a matter of privilege on the floor of the House&comma; alleging discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and made available to the public&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Standing under Order Six&comma; Rule Two of the House Rules on a Point of Privilege&comma; Dasuki told the House that his legislative privilege had been breached&comma; insisting that the content of the tax laws as gazetted did not reflect what lawmakers debated&comma; voted on and passed on the floor of the House&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"YwyRAinL" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; in a statement on Thursday NafiuBaba-Ahmad&comma; the Secretary General<br &sol;>&NewLine;of Council&comma; said that the Council noted the alleged additional clauses and other substantial material alterations appearing in the gazetted tax laws signed by the President with utmost seriousness&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The statement added that the additions were neither debated nor approved by the National Assembly&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statements read&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If established&comma; this represents a grave and egregious constitutional infraction with far-reaching implications for democracy&comma; governance&comma; economic stability&comma; and public trust&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Given the profound impact of tax legislation on the lives&comma; livelihoods of ordinary citizens&comma; businesses&comma; and religious&comma; social&comma; and economic obligations of Nigerians&comma; the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria actively monitored and contributed immensely throughout the legislative process of considering these tax reform bills at the National Assembly&period; Our engagements were guided by the need to ensure fairness&comma; equity&comma; transparency&comma; constitutional compliance&comma; and protection of the public interest&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Council is therefore shocked and deeply disturbed by allegations on the floor of the House of Representatives that what Nigerians collectively debated&comma; scrutinised&comma; and agreed upon through their elected representatives may have been altered at the executive level&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Such action&comma; if established &comma;tantamounts to tampering with the sovereign will of the Nigerian people and undermines the very foundation of constitutional governance&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Accordingly&comma; the council called on all stakeholders&comma; in particular&comma; the leadership of the National Assembly — the Speaker of the House of Representatives&comma; Rt&period; Hon&period; Tajuddeen Abbas&comma; and the President of the Senate&comma; Senator Godswill Akpabio — to rise to their constitutional responsibilities by ensuring that these claims are transparently examined and appropriate actions taken before the commencement of the Tax Laws&comma; on the 1 January&comma; 2026&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statement added&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Nigerians deserve respect&comma; transparency&comma; and fidelity to due process&period; Members of the National Assembly must be allowed&comma; without hindrance&comma; to conduct a critical&comma; open&comma; and transparent comparison between the harmonised bills passed by both chambers and the versions that were eventually gazetted&comma; in order to establish the nature&comma; extent&comma; and impact of any alterations&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The consequences of such alleged infractions are grave&period; They include erosion of public confidence in democratic institutions&comma; weakening of the doctrine of separation of powers&comma; exposure of the affected laws to constitutional challenges&comma; economic uncertainty&comma; and loss of investor confidence&period; Most critically&comma; they set a dangerous precedent where laws become negotiable instruments rather than binding outcomes of democratic deliberation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tax laws&comma; by their compulsory nature&comma; demand the highest level of constitutional integrity and procedural fidelity&period; Nigerians cannot be expected to comply with fiscal obligations arising from laws whose authenticity and legislative origin are in doubt&period; The Council therefore urges that this matter be treated with urgency&comma; sincerity&comma; and transparency in order to preserve constitutional order&comma; protect institutional credibility&comma; and reaffirm the supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Nigeria’s democracy must not be undermined by executive overreach or procedural shortcuts&period; The will of the people&comma; as expressed through the National Assembly&comma; must be respected and defended&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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