News

Parliamentary Probe Reveals Tampering with Key Tax Reform Legislation

Published

4 months ago

January 23, 2026

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The House of Representatives has confirmed that there is an illegal alteration of Nigeria’s newly gazetted tax reform laws.

The House Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee probing alleged alteration of the tax reform laws reported evidence of unauthorized changes to some of the tax reform laws recently passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

In an interim report released on Friday, the committee said its findings showed clear discrepancies between the versions of the tax laws approved by lawmakers and those later published in the official gazette.

According to the panel, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, contained the most significant alterations.

The probe followed public concern triggered by a motion raised on the floor of the House by Abdulsamad Dasuki, who warned that versions of the tax laws in circulation differed from what legislators had approved.

In response, the Minority Caucus, in a statement issued on December 28, 2025, pledged to safeguard the autonomy of the legislature and cautioned that the circulation of “fake laws” posed a direct threat to constitutional democracy.

Acting on that commitment, the caucus, under the leadership of Kingsley Chinda, set up a seven-member fact-finding committee on January 2, 2026.

The panel is chaired by Victor Ogene, with members Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan (Nasarawa).

A day later, the House, through its spokesman Akin Rotimi, announced that Speaker Tajudeen Abbas had ordered the release of certified copies of the four tax reform Acts signed by the President to enable public scrutiny.

The laws are the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.

The committee, in its preliminary assessment, said that a side-by-side review of the certified copies and the gazetted documents confirmed Dasuki’s claims.

“There were some alterations as alleged, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.

“There were three different versions of the documents in circulation, particularly the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025,” the committee stated.

The report, signed by Ogene, noted that multiple versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, were in circulation, raising questions about the integrity of the legislative process.

The panel argued that instructions to “align” the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press suggested serious procedural lapses.

The committee added that the published version of the laws unlawfully intruded into the constitutional authority of the National Assembly.

According to the committee, there was “a clear indication that there were procedural anomalies in the previously gazetted version that illegally encroached on the core mandate of the National Assembly.”

Highlighting specific concerns, the committee said Section 29(1) on reporting thresholds had been altered.

While the version passed by lawmakers set thresholds at N50 million for individuals and N100 million for companies, the gazetted text reportedly reduced the individual threshold to N25 million, a move the committee described as an attempt to widen the tax net through executive interference.

The committee also criticised the insertion of new subsections 41(8) and 41(9), which mandate a 20 per cent deposit of disputed tax liabilities before appeals can be taken from the Tax Appeal Tribunal to the High Court.

The committee noted that these provisions were absent from the version approved by the legislature.

According to the report, Section 64 of the gazetted Act further expanded the enforcement powers of tax authorities, allowing arrests through law enforcement agencies and the sale of seized assets without court authorisation, powers not contained in the original Act.

The committee also flagged changes to Section 3(1)(b), where petroleum income tax and VAT were reportedly removed from the definition of federal taxes, and to Section 39(3), which now mandates tax computation for petroleum operations in U.S. dollars rather than “the currency of the transaction,” as originally passed.

Beyond the Tax Administration Act, the panel raised alarms over the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, saying provisions on National Assembly oversight, particularly Sections 30(1)(d) and 30(3), were deleted in the gazetted version.

The committee said these omissions stripped the legislature of mechanisms for summons, reporting, and accountability, undermining the principle of checks and balances.

The House is expected to deliberate on the interim findings and consider further actions to rectify the published laws and prevent future alterations.

Related Topics:alteration Laws Outstanding

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Ex-IG Alkali Withdraws from Yobe APC Governorship Race

Published

1 hour ago

May 15, 2026

Nigerian Tracker

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Former Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba (retd.), has withdrawn from the 2027 Yobe State governorship race on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

Baba announced his withdrawal in a statement made available to Newsmen on Wednesday, saying the decision followed extensive consultations with political stakeholders and associates across the state and beyond.

The former police chief said the move was taken in the interest of party unity, stability and progress ahead of the APC governorship primaries.

‎He stated, “After due consultations and exhaustive meetings with the Vice-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria Senator Kashim Shettima, the Executive Governors of Yobe and Borno states, elders and political associates, as well as some very critical stakeholders across the seventeen Local Government Areas, I have decided to withdraw my aspiration for the governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.”

Baba described the decision as a difficult but necessary sacrifice for the unity of the ruling party in Yobe State.

‎“The decision was not arrived at easily; it is voluntary but an obvious sacrifice we must make in the interest of party unity, stability and progress of our dear state,” he said.

He urged his supporters to remain calm and continue supporting the APC and whoever emerges as the party’s governorship candidate.
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‎“Having made this decision, we urge our teeming supporters to remain calm, law-abiding and continue to support our great party, the APC, as well as the eventual gubernatorial candidate,” Baba added.
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‎The retired IGP also reaffirmed his commitment to the development of Yobe State despite stepping down from the race.
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His withdrawal comes less than 24 hours after another APC governorship aspirant, Alhaji Lawan Kolo Geidam, also exited the contest.

The remaining aspirants include Senator Ibrahim Muhammed Bomai, Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja, Bashir Sheriff Machina and Kashim Musa Tumsah.

News

Wike Throws Jab at Makinde, Says Alliance with APM Unknown to INEC

Published

1 hour ago

May 15, 2026

Nigerian Tracker

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has described the alliance between Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde-backed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) as fraudulent.

“When I say people are fraudulent, they thought I was joking. And that’s the 419 we are talking about,” said Mr Wike during an inspection of ongoing road projects in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr Makinde earlier declared his interest to contest the 2027 presidency after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the APM to be its standard bearer.

“I, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, Excellency, announce my candidacy for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the governor stated.

According to the agreement, candidates of the Turaki-led PDP faction in Oyo State loyal to Mr Makinde who are contesting governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly seats are expected to run on the platform of the APM rather than the PDP in the 2027 elections.

However, Mr Wike said the alliance was unknown to the Independent National Electoral Commission and his faction of the PDP.

He added, “There’s no alliance between PDP and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) or any other political party, as the case may be. INEC also knows that there’s nothing called PDP-APM alliance.”

Noting that the ongoing political activities within the PDP, including the screening of aspirants, clearly showed that the party remained independent and had not entered into any coalition arrangement, the minister accused Mr Makinde of pursuing his personal presidential ambition through the APM platform.

“PDP has presented a presidential candidate and watch out who will be submitted to INEC and see whether there’s anything called PDP-APM.

“What you have is Seyi Makinde joining APM to be able to actualise his presidential ambition, which is already dead on arrival,” Mr Wike said.

The PDP has been embroiled in leadership crisis stirring yet to be resolved court cases.

News

Gbajabiamila Narrates How He Almost Lost His Job as Tinubu’s Chief of Staff

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Nigerian Tracker

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the involvement of Honourable Desmond Elliot in the overturned impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, almost cost him his job as as chief of staff to the president.

Speaking to members and supporters of the APC in Surulere on Thursday, Mr Gbajabiamila revealed that he almost got sacked by Mr Tinubu during Mr Obasa’s impeachment saga involving Mr Elliot and other members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

“I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr President called me to his study in his house in Abuja during the Obasa saga, and he said, ‘I heard this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave you, we heard he’s part of the people causing problems in the Lagos House of Assembly,’ and immediately I told Mr President that Desmond was not part of them. I haven’t even confirmed from Desmond, but I defended him.”

“But the president said, ‘well, I’m telling you from intelligence that he’s part of them. Go and tell him to retrace his steps,’ and I called Desmond and told him that if he was part of them, he should withdraw,” Mr Gbajabiamila added.

He, however, noted that during his phone call with Mr Elliot, the lawmaker dilly-dallied rather than being straightforward with him about his involvement in Mr Obasa’s impeachment saga.

Mr Gbajabiamila noted that three days after his meeting with the president, he received a phone call from the Director General of the State Security Service, who informed him that he was being accused of supporting Mr Elliot to ensure the impeachment of Mr Obasa.

He added, “Of course the president will not believe that Desmond would do such a thing, and I would not know about it. But I told the DG DSS that I had already spoken with Desmond, and he promised to withdraw his involvement in the matter. So, I called Desmond again and directed him to issue a public statement that he wasn’t part of them, but till tomorrow, he never did. If not for my kind of relationship with Mr President, I won’t be here today.”

On January 13, 2025, 32 of the 40 state legislators impeached Mr Obasa while he was out of the country. This triggered a leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly, prompting Mr Tinubu’s intervention and the subsequent reinstatement of Mr Obasa as Speaker after more than 40 days.