The Centre for Accountability and Fiscal Responsibility (CAFR) has defended the National Assembly’s decision to re-gazette Nigeria’s tax reform laws, stating that the exercise is a procedural verification and not a legislative lapse.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement on Monday, Lawal Sadiq, CAFR’s national president, said public claims alleging errors or misconduct by the legislature stemmed from a misunderstanding of constitutional lawmaking procedures and statutory requirements for authenticating legislation.
The group explained that the re-gazetting of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2025, and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025 followed established parliamentary and legal protocols intended to protect the integrity of the statute book.
“The re-gazetting exercise should be understood as a verification mechanism, not a confession of error, because authentication exists to ensure certainty and legal clarity, especially for laws with wide fiscal and economic implications,” the statement reads.
Sadiq added that the National Assembly’s leadership acted within constitutional limits by conducting an internal review to ensure legislative records, presidential assent documents, and published texts were properly aligned. He noted that failure to carry out such verification could expose the country to avoidable legal disputes.
The CSO stressed that the review neither reopened debates on the substance of the tax reforms nor reversed any legislative decision, and did not infringe on executive or judicial powers.
“In mature democracies, legislatures routinely carry out post-assent verifications, correct clerical inconsistencies, and reissue authenticated copies of laws to protect legal certainty,” Sadiq said.
CAFR argued that tax legislation affects government revenue, business compliance, and citizens’ obligations, making procedural accuracy essential for enforceability and public confidence. The group also warned against politicising routine administrative safeguards, saying it could erode public trust and misrepresent legislative processes.
“The strength of a parliament is measured by the credibility of the laws it produces, and in insisting on proper authentication and re-gazetting where necessary, the National Assembly acted in defence of legality, certainty, and democratic integrity,” Sadiq added.
The organisation concluded that the re-gazetting ultimately reinforces confidence in the tax reforms and provides a firmer legal foundation for their implementation.
