The House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee probing alleged tampering with Nigeria’s tax laws has confirmed that unlawful modifications were made to some of the tax reform legislations recently approved by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The committee identified the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, as the most affected among the laws in question. This revelation was contained in the committee’s interim report released on Friday, following a comparison between the versions of the laws passed by lawmakers and those later published in the official gazette.
The issue gained public attention after a member of the House, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised concerns during plenary over the circulation of documents that differed from the versions approved by the legislature.
In response, the Minority Caucus issued a statement on December 28, 2025, pledging to safeguard the autonomy of the legislature and Nigeria’s democratic process, warning that the imposition of unauthorised laws on citizens amounted to a violation of the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate.
To follow through on this commitment, the Minority Caucus, under the leadership of Kingsley Chinda, constituted a seven-member investigative committee on January 2, 2026. The panel is chaired by Victor Ogene, with Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano) and Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan (Nasarawa) as members.
Meanwhile, on January 3, 2026, the House spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, announced that Speaker Tajudeen Abbas had ordered the public release of the four tax reform Acts signed by the President to enable verification. The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.
In its preliminary findings, endorsed by Ogene, the committee said a review of the certified true copies issued by the House against the gazetted versions confirmed the discrepancies highlighted by Dasuki. It revealed that multiple versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, were already in circulation.
The committee noted that the instruction to “harmonise” the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press suggested the presence of procedural lapses and unauthorised changes in the gazetted documents, which it said amounted to an intrusion into the legislative powers of the National Assembly.
Among the discrepancies identified, the committee pointed out that Section 29(1) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, dealing with reporting thresholds, was altered. While the version passed by lawmakers set thresholds at ₦50 million for individuals and ₦100 million for companies, the gazetted version reduced the individual threshold to ₦25 million, a move the committee described as an attempt to unlawfully widen the tax net.
The panel also faulted the inclusion of new subsections 41(8) and 41(9) in the published version, which require taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of disputed sums before appealing decisions of the Tax Appeal Tribunal at the High Court. It said these provisions were absent from the law approved by the National Assembly.
Additionally, the committee observed that Section 64 of the gazetted Act improperly broadened the enforcement authority of tax agencies by permitting arrests and the disposal of seized assets without court approval.
It further noted that Section 3(1)(b) of the altered document removed petroleum income tax and VAT from the list of federal taxes, describing the change as an encroachment on the exclusive law-making powers of the National Assembly.
The committee also flagged Section 39(3), which in the gazetted version mandated that taxes on petroleum operations be calculated in United States dollars, contrary to the version passed by lawmakers that required computation in the transaction currency.
Beyond the tax administration law, the committee raised concerns over the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, stating that Sections 30(1)(d) and 30(3), which provide for National Assembly oversight, were removed in the published version. According to the committee, the deletions eliminated provisions for legislative summons, reporting obligations and accountability mechanisms, undermining checks and balances.
Citing what it described as widespread irregularities and constitutional violations, the committee said the findings so far justified an expanded investigation. It therefore sought additional time to conduct a more comprehensive review, while expressing appreciation to the caucus leadership for the opportunity to carry out the assignment.
