• Ezekwesili faults gazetting of tax reform law, warns of threat to constitutionality
• CAN urges caution on fiscal, tax reforms amid hardship
• Kachikwu warns against new taxes in 2026, urges compassion in reforms
• Budget Office dismisses claims of altered tax laws, warns against speculation
• Former CITN president urges Nigerians to embrace new tax regime

As the controversy surrounding Nigeria’s new tax laws deepens, the National Assembly has said it is taking steps to address public concerns over alleged discrepancies in the legislation, pledging to release certified copies of the bills signed by President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Director of Information, Bullah Bi-Allah, said the Assembly had directed the Clerk to release the transmitted tax bills, including the certificate pages, to enable public verification.

According to him, the management of the National Assembly had noted allegations of inconsistencies between the votes and proceedings of the legislature and the versions of the tax laws gazetted after passage.

He said the decision to make the documents available followed public calls for transparency and would allow Nigerians to review and confirm the authenticity of the bills.

Bi-Allah, however, noted that despite heightened public interest, only a limited number of people had formally requested Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the harmonised bills, adding that all such requests had been processed.

He said the Clerk of the National Assembly was also working with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure the publication of duly certified and assented Acts in line with legal requirements, adding that the gazettes were expected to be ready on Thursday.

While it is the responsibility of the Clerk to initiate the gazetting process, Bi-Allah said the statutory duty for printing and publication rests with the Federal Government Printing Press.

To strengthen institutional safeguards, he said the National Assembly would review procedures for the transmission and gazetting of bills.

“Henceforth, all bills for presidential assent will be routed through presidential liaison officers,” he said. “No request for gazetting an Act of the National Assembly will be entertained by the printing press unless initiated by the Clerk to the National Assembly or an authorised representative.”

He added that the legislature appreciated Nigerians for their interest and constructive engagement in promoting transparency, accountability and professionalism in the legislative process.

The four laws signed by President Tinubu on June 26, 2025, are the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.

The controversy followed a motion raised by a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who alleged that the versions of the tax laws passed by the National Assembly differed from the copies gazetted and made available to the public.

Dasuki said he compared copies of the bills approved by the legislature with the gazetted versions and identified discrepancies.

In response, the House of Representatives constituted a seven-member committee to investigate the alleged inconsistencies. Although the committee has yet to submit its report, the lower chamber has ordered the re-gazetting of the tax laws.

Ezekwesili faults gazetting of tax reform law, warns of threat to constitutional order
THIS came as former Vice President of the World Bank, Obiageli Ezekwesili, condemned the alleged gazetting of what she described as the wrong version of Nigeria’s Tax Reform Act, warning that the action poses a grave threat to constitutional governance.

In a public notice addressed to the Presidency and the National Assembly and published on her X handle, Ezekwesili said the tax law, as gazetted, suffers from a deficit of both policy coherence and process credibility.

Describing the controversy as an assault on constitutional democracy, she said she supports tax reforms that strengthen growth, equity, fiscal sustainability and state capacity, but not at the expense of core principles of taxation or the legitimacy of the lawmaking process.

“All actions so far taken by the executive and legislative branches regarding the gazetting of a wrong version of the recently passed and assented Tax Reform Act constitute a grave threat to constitutional governance and must be halted,” she said.

According to her, what should have been a confidence-building and growth-enhancing reform has instead become a source of confusion, distrust and resistance, driven largely by process failure, policy incoherence and political tone-deafness.

Ezekwesili said the version of the law that was gazetted reportedly contains constitutionally troubling provisions, including clauses with no clear or traceable legislative origin, expansions of administrative discretion that weaken taxpayer protections, and federalism and legality issues requiring urgent clarification.

Consequently, she called on the Federal Government to stop, rescind and reset the entire process in the public interest.

The former minister urged the executive and legislature to immediately terminate and rescind all steps taken on the wrongly gazetted version, suspend implementation of any version pending a credible resolution, and restart the process transparently by returning to the legislature from the public hearing stage.

She also called on President Bola Tinubu to announce an immediate postponement of the implementation of whichever version is being treated as the operative Tax Reform Act until the integrity of the legislative text is resolved beyond doubt.

“Gazetting a wrong bill as an Act is prima facie unlawful and potentially unconstitutional,” she said, adding that if the wrong version was knowingly substituted or altered, it could implicate serious criminal liability.

Ezekwesili expressed concern that the National Assembly appeared to have opted for a simple “re-gazetting” of what it considers the correct version without conducting a transparent, independent inquiry into how the error occurred, warning that such an approach falls short of democratic standards and compounds the damage.

She further criticised what she described as a pattern of governance in which rules are bent, processes improvised and the public asked to accept corrections without accountability.

“A functioning democracy requires that when something this significant goes wrong, the government triggers a system check: review, investigation, evaluation and full disclosure,” said Ezekwesili, who is also a co-founder of Transparency International and founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance.

CAN urges caution on fiscal, tax reforms amid hardship
REACTING, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged the Federal Government to exercise restraint and fairness in the implementation of fiscal and tax policy reforms, warning that poorly timed economic decisions could worsen hardship for millions of Nigerians.

The association described 2025 as a difficult year marked by economic strain, rising living costs, insecurity and uncertainty, saying these pressures have placed enormous stress on families and communities across the country.

In a New Year message titled ‘A Call to Renewal, Restoration, and Responsible Leadership in 2026’, CAN President, Daniel Okoh, said the quiet endurance of Nigerians should not be mistaken for well-being, but seen as evidence of how much relief, healing and justice the nation still requires.

He called for wisdom, fairness and restraint in the execution of fiscal, tax and other economic reforms, stressing that policies must not compound the suffering of citizens already struggling to survive.

Okoh said small businesses, low-income earners and rural communities must be deliberately protected if economic recovery is to be meaningful and inclusive, warning that reforms which fail to reflect everyday realities risk alienating the people they are meant to help.

According to him, ongoing discussions around reforms, recovery and growth must translate into tangible improvements in the daily lives of Nigerians. He said economic progress should be reflected in affordable food, accessible healthcare, attainable education and the availability of meaningful employment.

“Any development that does not touch ordinary lives remains incomplete,” he said.

The CAN president added that public policies must consistently reflect compassion, responsibility and a genuine commitment to the common good, particularly towards the poor and vulnerable. He said Nigeria must become a country where families live with dignity, young people can plan for the future with confidence, and communities are no longer paralysed by fear.

Kachikwu warns against new taxes in 2026, urges compassion in reforms
ALSO, former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, urged the Federal Government to place compassion and citizen welfare at the centre of its economic reforms, warning that additional taxes planned for 2026 could worsen hardship and erode public trust.

In a New Year message to Nigerians, Kachikwu said the start of a new year should offer hope and renewal, not policies that further strain households already facing rising living costs, insecurity and shrinking incomes.

He acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu assumed office amid a fragile economy requiring urgent intervention, but argued that the burden of reforms has fallen disproportionately on ordinary Nigerians. According to him, measures intended to stabilise the economy have instead intensified daily survival struggles for many families.

Kachikwu said many Nigerians feel excluded from the benefits of reform, noting that while some corporate and elite interests appear protected, the wider population is under mounting pressure from taxes, inflation and declining public services. He cautioned that introducing new tax measures at this time could heighten public discontent and undermine social stability.

While recognising the importance of tax reform in principle, he maintained that an already overburdened populace cannot absorb additional levies, especially amid concerns over how existing revenues are utilised. He warned that further taxation could accelerate the decline of the middle class, increasingly reliant on costly private alternatives for education, healthcare and basic services.

The former ADC flag bearer also expressed concern that poorly timed reforms could fuel a broader national crisis, particularly against the backdrop of persistent security challenges. He said Nigerians urgently need relief, reassurance and policies that protect livelihoods.

Budget Office dismisses claims of altered tax laws, warns against speculation
MEANWHILE, the Budget Office of the Federation has reaffirmed the integrity of Nigeria’s newly enacted Tax Reform Acts, cautioning against what it described as governance driven by speculation and unverified claims following allegations of post-passage alterations.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by its Director-General, Tanimu Yakubu, the Budget Office said it had taken note of concerns raised by the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, stressing that the sanctity of the law is central to constitutional democracy and not a mere procedural formality.

According to the Office, any suggestion that a law could be altered after debate, passage, authentication and presidential assent without due process would strike at the heart of the Republic and undermine citizens’ right to be governed by transparent and stable laws.

However, it warned that democratic integrity is also endangered by the careless amplification of unverified claims. “A nation cannot be governed by insinuation or sustained on circulating documents of uncertain origin,” the statement said, noting that public confidence, once eroded by speculation, is often difficult to restore.

The Budget Office said both government and citizens share a common interest in truth, clarity and due process, emphasising that public finance relies heavily on trust in the legality and clarity of fiscal laws. It welcomed the decision of the National Assembly to investigate the allegations, describing institutional inquiry, rather than conjecture, as the appropriate response to claims of illegality.

On public access to legislation, the Office agreed that Nigerians and the business community are entitled to clear and authoritative versions of all laws they are required to obey. It clarified, however, that the authenticity of legislation is determined by certified legislative records and official publication processes, not by informal or widely circulated reproductions.

The statement also underscored the importance of the separation of powers, warning that claims suggesting Nigeria is being governed by “fake laws”, if not supported by facts, risk undermining confidence in democratic institutions.

Former CITN president urges Nigerians to embrace new tax regime
RELATEDLY, former President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Gladys Simplice, has urged Nigerians to support the country’s new tax regime, attributing resistance to the reforms to wealthy individuals opposed to higher levels of tax compliance.

Simplice said yesterday that the major challenge facing the reforms was not the content of the laws but what she described as a “mindset issue” among taxpayers.

The implementation of the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, two of the four laws collectively referred to as the 2026 tax reforms, has commenced nationwide.

She said Nigerians must begin to view taxation as a civic responsibility rather than a burden, stressing that sustainable national development depends largely on effective and efficient tax collection.

“Taxes are what build nations. We cannot continue to complain about poor infrastructure and still resist the very instrument used to fix it,” she said.

According to Simplice, the reforms mark a significant shift in Nigeria’s tax system by offering greater protection to low-income earners, who she said had historically borne a disproportionate share of the tax burden.

She noted that while taxation is globally recognised as a key driver of development, much of the criticism in Nigeria was coming from high-income earners who fear the new laws would compel them to meet their full tax obligations.

“High-income earners are instigating others to attack the law because it will affect them. They have been cheating us for decades,” she said.

Simplice described the reforms as long overdue, saying they were designed to promote fairness, support small businesses and ease pressure on low-income Nigerians.

She explained that the new framework is progressive, with individuals earning up to N300,000 annually exempt from tax, while small businesses with turnovers below N100 million will no longer be subjected to multiple taxation.

According to her, the structure is intended to ensure equity and encourage voluntary compliance across all income levels.