Ad-Hoc Reps committee confirms Illegal alterations of Nigeria’s tax laws
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus Committee investigating alleged distortions of Nigeria’s tax laws has confirmed that illegal alterations were made to some tax reform laws recently passed by the National Assembly. The tax laws alteration scandal was discovered in laws already assented to by President Bola Tinubu.
The committee specifically pointed to the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 as the law where the alleged alterations were most visible. This confirmation was contained in an interim report presented on Friday after comparing versions passed by lawmakers and those published in the official gazette.
The controversy began after a lawmaker, Abdulsamad Dasuki raised concerns on the floor of the House over an altered version of the tax laws circulating in public. His disclosure sparked widespread outrage and brought the tax laws alteration scandal into national focus.
Reacting at the time the Minority Caucus issued a statement on December 28 2025 vowing to unconditionally protect the independence of the legislature. The caucus warned that any attempt to impose fake laws on Nigerians amounted to an attack on democracy and the constitutional role of the National Assembly.
In line with this position, the Minority Caucus led by Kingsley Chinda constituted a seven-member committee on January 2, 2026. The committee was chaired by Victor Ogene with members Aliyu Garu, Stanley Adedeji, Ibe Osonwa, Marie Ebikake, Shehu Fagge, and Gaza Gbefwi Jonathan.
Meanwhile, on January 3, 2026, the House, through its spokesman Akin Rotimi, announced that Speaker Tajudeen Abbas directed the release of the four tax reform acts signed by the President. The move was aimed at public verification following the tax laws alteration scandal.
The released Acts include Nigeria Tax Act 2025 Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, National Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025, and Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act 2025. These documents were made available for transparency and reference.
In its preliminary findings signed by Ogene the committee said comparisons between certified copies and gazetted versions confirmed Dasuki’s allegations. It stated that multiple versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 were already in circulation.
“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 also said the directive to align the acts with the Federal Government Printing Press showed clear procedural anomalies. It added that the earlier gazetted versions illegally encroached on the constitutional mandate of the National Assembly.
On specific discrepancies, the committee revealed that Section 29 1 of the Act was altered to reduce reporting thresholds for individuals. It said the certified version fixed thresholds at N50m for individuals and N100m for companies, while the gazetted version reduced the figure.
“A clear case of the executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net.”
The committee further faulted the insertion of new Sections 41.8 and 41.9, which imposed a mandatory 20 percent deposit before appealing tax disputes. It stressed that these provisions were not contained in the version passed by lawmakers.
It also observed that Section 64 of the gazetted Act illegally expanded enforcement powers to include arrests and asset sales without court orders. According to the committee, this was another major element of the tax laws alteration scandal.
On petroleum taxation the committee said Section 3 1 b removed petroleum income tax and VAT from federal taxes. It described this move as “an affront to the exclusive powers of the National Assembly to make laws.”
Similarly, it noted that Section 39.3 of the altered version mandated tax computation in US dollars. This contradicted the original law, which prescribed computation in the currency of the transaction.
The committee also raised concerns over the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Act, where oversight provisions were deleted. It said the removal of National Assembly reporting requirements showed disregard for checks and balances.
Given what it described as anomalies, illegalities, and impunity, the committee said the findings justified deeper investigation. It therefore requested more time to conclude its work and thanked the caucus leadership for the opportunity.
