https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VID-20251217-WA0017.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n\u201cI was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,\u201d Dasuki told colleagues, adding that the situation represents a breach of the Constitution and undermines legislative authority. \u201cThis is the breach of the Constitution and our laws, and this should not be taken by this Honourable House,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dasuki urged Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to ensure all relevant documents \u2014 including the originally harmonised bills, votes and proceedings, and the gazetted texts \u2014 are placed before the House for scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Responding to the allegations, the House of Representatives on Thursday approved the establishment of a seven-member ad hoc committee to investigate the alleged discrepancies and determine the extent of any alterations between the legislature\u2019s versions and the gazetted laws. The panel will be chaired by Rep. Muktar Betara and has a one-week mandate to report its findings.<\/p>\n
Speaker Abbas acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and affirmed that the House is committed to resolving the concerns raised by its members.<\/p>\n
Human rights lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju sharply criticised the alleged alterations in a statement issued on Thursday, warning that they represent a serious threat to Nigeria\u2019s democracy. Quoting from his release, Adeyanju said that if the allegations are true, they amount to \u201cthe greatest mockery of Nigeria\u2019s democracy since 1999.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a sane constitutional democracy, the President can only assent to the exact bill passed by the legislature. Any post-passage alteration, whether by omission, addition or substitution, amounts to legislative fraud and an affront to the sovereignty of the Nigerian people,\u201d his statement read.<\/p>\n
Adeyanju urged the Tinubu administration to publish the authenticated version of the tax reform bill passed by the National Assembly, warning that failure to do so would deepen public distrust and undermine democratic institutions.<\/p>\n
The Presidency has dismissed calls to suspend the tax reform laws, insisting that they are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, as planned. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, described the reforms as \u201crevolutionary\u201d and necessary for improving Nigeria\u2019s tax system.<\/p>\n
Opposition groups and critics, however, argue that pushing through the reforms without broad consultation and clarity could exacerbate economic hardship for ordinary Nigerians already grappling with inflation, unemployment, and rising costs of living.<\/p>\n
The unfolding scandal raises serious constitutional and governance questions over the integrity of Nigeria\u2019s legislative process. If the allegations are verified, legal experts say the situation could trigger court challenges and possibly even impeachment proceedings depending on the findings of the House committee and public pressure.<\/p>\n
For now, the nation watches closely as the ad hoc panel begins its work amid intensifying public debate over transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in Nigeria\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria\u2019s new tax law is supposed to take off in 13 days, but it has run into a monumental scandal after a member of the House of Representatives raised benumbing allegations that the tax reform laws signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are materially different from the versions passed by the National Assembly \u2014 prompting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[5935,7722,7723,7721],"class_list":["post-96734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-news","tag-abbas","tag-abdulsamad","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-tax-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}