Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the national assembly’s move to re-gazette the recently passed tax reform laws.
A gazette is an official government publication that
formally publishes laws and other legal notices after they have been approved
by the legislature and signed into law by the president.
BACKGROUND
On December 17, Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives,
said there are discrepancies between the tax reform law passed by the National Assembly
and the gazetted copy available to the public.
Dasuki said the gazetted copy of the law available to
Nigerians does not reflect what lawmakers passed.
The tax reform law, expected to take full effect in January
2026, faced resistance even before its passage into law.
On Friday, the national assembly announced that it would
work with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to re-gazette the tax
reform laws.
Following the allegations of discrepancies, the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) also called for the suspension of the implementation of the
tax laws, pending a full investigation.
Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said workers were
not consulted on the new tax laws and urged the federal government to suspend
the implementation.
‘ONLY LAWFUL PATH IS FRESH LEGISLATIVE CONSIDERATION,
RE-PASSAGE’
In a statement on Sunday, Abubakar described the discrepancy
in the gazetted copy of the tax law as a “grave constitutional issue”.
He noted that any law published in a form different from
what was approved by lawmakers is “a nullity”.
“The confirmation by the Senate that the gazetted version of
the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National
Assembly raises a grave constitutional issue,” the statement reads.
“A law that was never passed in the form in which it was
published is not law. It is a nullity.
“Under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawmaking
process is clear: passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and only then
gazetting.
“Gazetting is an administrative act; it does not create law,
amend law, or cure illegality.”
The former vice-president warned that post-passage
insertions, deletions, or modifications without legislative approval amount to
“forgery, not a clerical error”.
“No administrative directive by the Senate President,
Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, can validate
such a defect or justify a re-gazetting without re-passage and fresh
presidential assent,” he added.
He also said attempts to rush a re-gazetting while delaying
legislative investigations “undermine parliamentary oversight and set a
dangerous precedent.
“The only lawful path is fresh legislative consideration,
re-passage in identical form by both chambers, fresh assent, and proper
gazetting,” Abubakar said.
He added that his stance is not opposition to tax reform but
a defence of legislative integrity and constitutional governance.
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