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Dasuki Was Right! Reps Minority Caucus Exposes ‘Alterations’ in Gazetted Tax Laws
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws, on Friday, said it had confirmed that illegal alterations were made to some tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, raising concerns about legislative integrity and constitutional breaches.
The committee made the disclosure in its interim report on allegations of discrepancies between the laws passed by parliament and versions later published in the official gazette.
The controversy began after a member of the House, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised the alarm during plenary over the circulation of an “authorised” tax law version that differed from what lawmakers passed.
Following public outrage, the minority caucus issued a statement on December 28, 2025, vowing to “unconditionally protect the independence of the Legislature and our democracy.”
The caucus warned that foisting fake laws on Nigerians amounts to an attack on the constitutional role of the National Assembly.
Fact-finding committee
To investigate the allegations, the caucus, led by Kingsley Chinda, on January 2, 2026, constituted a seven-man ad-hoc committee, chaired by Afam Ogene and six others.
They are Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Jonathan (Nasarawa).
The mandate was to establish the facts surrounding the alleged manipulation of the tax laws.
In the statement signed by Ogene, the committee said that on January 3, 2026, the House, through its spokesman, Akintunde Rotimi, announced that the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, directed the public release of the four tax reform Acts duly signed into law by the President.
The Speaker also ordered an internal verification and immediate release of Certified True Copies (CTCs) to eliminate doubts and preserve the sanctity of the legislature.
The Acts released were Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.
According to the House, the Clerk to the National Assembly was instructed to align the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure accuracy and uniformity.
Findings
The committee said that by comparing the Certified True Copies of the Acts released officially by the House of Representatives as directed by the Speaker, with the already gazetted version already in circulation before the alarm was raised by the House, it could can confirm “that there were some alterations as alleged by Dasuki on the floor of the House of Representatives, 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 order to the Clerk of the National Assembly, to take steps to ‘aligning the Acts – duly passed, assented to, and certified – with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity,’ is a clear indication that there were some procedural anomalies in the previously gazetted version that illegally encroached on the core mandate of the National Assembly, as the only organ of government constitutionally empowered to make laws for the good of the people, as prescribed.
“This is a grave concern that would be deeply looked into,” it added.
Contentious portions
The committee, in its preliminary findings, confirmed that
alterations were made especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.
“The Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), 2025, has a number of discrepancies from the version passed by the National Assembly and the version earlier published in the official gazette. These discrepancies are obvious, going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House referenced earlier,” it stated.
Citing section 29(1) and 41 (8 and 9) on reporting thresholds, introducing new subsections, and prescribing a mandatory 20 per cent deposit for appeals, respectively, the committee said, “While the NASS Certified version provided for a tax compliance reporting threshold of ₦50 million for individuals and ₦100 million for companies, the gazetted version lowered the reporting thresholds for individuals to (₦25 million from ₦50 million) and (₦100 million from ₦250 million) for companies.
“This is a clear case of the Executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net.
“The gazetted version introduced new subsections 41(8) and 41(9), which required taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of the disputed tax amount as a condition for appealing Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) decisions to the High Court. These sections were not in the authentic version passed by NASS.”
On Section 64, dealing with enforcement and power of arrest, it said that the gazetted law illegally increased the powers of the tax authority to include the power to arrest individuals suspected of tax violations through law enforcement agencies, and allowed for the sale of seized assets without a court order.
Citing Section 3(1) (b), which focuses on the definition of federal taxes, the panel said that while the NASS certified version defines Federal taxes to include income tax, petroleum income tax, stamp duties, and VAT, the gazetted version removed petroleum income tax and VAT from the definition of taxes under the federal government’s administration.
“We consider this an affront to the exclusive powers of the National Assembly to make laws,” it said.
“Section 39(3): Currency of Tax Computation. The illegally altered gazetted Act mandated that tax computations for petroleum operations be made in US dollars. But in the actual version passed by the National Assembly, it prescribed tax calculations in the currency of the transaction,” it added.
On Section 30(1) (d), & 30(3) — National Assembly Oversight Provisions — of the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, it disclosed that it observed, “with grave concern,” that while the authentic version passed by NASS provided that NASS can summon, demand reports or enforce accountability in line with its constitutional role of oversight, the altered gazetted version “curiously deleted” this provision requiring quarterly and annual reporting to parliament regarding the Nigeria Revenue Services, in total disregard and disrespect of the institution of the National Assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances, an important bedrock of democracy.
The committee, therefore, stated that the current evidence was sufficient to warrant a deeper investigation.
“Given the anomalies, illegalities, and impunity observed, which clearly undermine the National Assembly’s constitutional powers and democracy, the Committee finds the current evidence sufficient to warrant a deeper investigation.
“This will ensure accountability for the affront against the legislature. To achieve this, the Committee respectfully requests an extension to conduct a more thorough examination of the matter,” it added.
In June, 2025, President Bola Tinubu assented to the four tax reform bills recently passed by the National Assembly.
According to the presidency, the new tax laws will significantly transform tax administration in the country, leading to increased revenue generation, improved business environment, and a boost in domestic and foreign investments.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran, amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”
The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports since April 13 after Tehran virtually halted traffic through the economically vital Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28.
“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump wrote in the same Truth Social post, while slamming the 2015 nuclear deal that former president Barack Obama agreed with Iran.
“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote.
While the White House has not released aspects of the deal, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday on state television that the two sides were nearing a “a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” in “a trend toward rapprochement.”
Several voices, notably among Republican lawmakers close to Trump, expressed fears of an agreement favorable to Iran as supposed aspects of the deal that began to leak.
According to news outlet Axios, a possible agreement would extend the current ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran would freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held on Iran’s nuclear program.
The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean, “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”
Fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham also voiced opposition to Iran soon gaining benefits such as the ability to sell its oil freely.
“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, wrote on X.
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said the deal “doesn’t make sense to me.”
“We were told about 11 weeks ago by (Secretary of Defense Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses, and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material. Now we’re talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?” Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” morning program.
AFP
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
