A House of Representatives panel has confirmed that several of Nigeria’s newly enacted tax reform laws were altered after being passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, deepening a national controversy over the integrity of the country’s law-making process.
The confirmation, contained in an interim report released on Friday, 23 January 2026, follows weeks of public debate, investigations, and political fallout triggered by allegations that the versions of key tax laws made available to the public differed materially from the ones approved by lawmakers.
Origins of the Dispute
The controversy began in late December 2025, when Abdulsamad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives, raised the alarm on the floor of the House about the circulation of an altered version of the tax laws that did not match the text passed by the National Assembly.
Dasuki’s concern spurred public outrage and calls from civil society organisations, legal groups and opposition figures who argued that discrepancies between the gazetted laws and the parliamentary versions threatened constitutional governance and the separation of powers.
In response to the allegations, on 2 January 2026, the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives established a seven-member fact-finding committee to examine the claims.
The committee, chaired by Victor Afam Ogene, was tasked with comparing the certified copies of the tax laws released by the House with the versions published in the official government gazette.
The House leadership also directed the release of the four tax reform Acts signed into law by President Tinubu, the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025, to allow for public verification and reference.
Panel Findings: Alterations Confirmed
According to the interim report, the committee found that the versions of the laws in circulation contained alterations that were not part of the legislation passed by the National Assembly.
Among the most notable discrepancies highlighted were changes in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which the panel said appeared in three different versions.
Some of the key differences identified included:
- Reporting thresholds under Section 29(1) were lowered in the gazetted version, reducing the individual threshold from ₦50 million to ₦25 million, which the panel said could broaden the tax net without legislative approval.
- New subsections (41(8) and 41(9)) were introduced in the gazetted version requiring a 20 per cent deposit of disputed tax amounts as a condition for appealing Tax Appeal Tribunal decisions, a provision not in the authentic version passed by lawmakers.
- The gazetted law expanded enforcement powers, including arrests and the sale of seized assets without court orders, which were absent in the certified copy.
- Alterations also appeared in provisions relating to the definition of federal taxes and the currency for calculating petroleum taxes.
- In the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, oversight sections that provided for National Assembly reporting and accountability were reportedly removed in the gazetted version.
Broader Debate and Reactions
The panel’s confirmation follows weeks of debate sparked by the initial allegations. Opposition figures and civil society organisations had earlier called for investigations and for the government to publish certified true copies of the bills passed alongside the versions gazetted, to allow Nigerians to scrutinise the laws.
Some lawmakers and civil groups framed the controversy as not merely technical but a fundamental challenge to constitutional order and the rule of law.
Despite the allegations and ongoing probe, the Federal Government has maintained that the tax reforms would take effect as scheduled. President Tinubu reiterated that the new tax laws would commence on 1 January 2026, describing them as a structural fiscal reset rather than a simple revenue-raising measure.
Next Steps
The panel described the preliminary findings as grounds for deeper investigation, citing “anomalies, illegalities and encroachments” on the legislative mandate.
It has requested more time to complete a fuller examination of the dispute and urged further scrutiny of the process.
As Nigeria prepares to implement the wide-ranging tax reform, the outcome of the investigation and any resulting legal or parliamentary actions could have major implications for public trust in the law-making process and the integrity of fiscal policy implementation.
