The House of Representatives has rejected the interim report issued by its minority caucus committee on the tax reform laws, saying the document does not represent the official position or process of the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement released on Sunday, Akin Rotimi, spokesperson for the House of Representatives, emphasised that only the House sitting in plenary or the Speaker has the authority to form ad hoc committees with parliamentary status.
He said, “No political caucus, whether majority or minority, possesses the procedural authority to establish a committee that carries the status of a parliamentary body.”
Rotimi added that actions taken by a caucus in this regard are non-binding, informal, and without legal or institutional consequence, and that any committee created outside the House’s official procedures lacks institutional recognition.
He explained that reports from such bodies cannot be laid before the House, cannot be received as a parliamentary document, and do not form part of the official legislative or oversight record of the National Assembly.
According to the statement, the House believes that circulating interim findings from an unofficial committee could lead to public confusion, particularly because the issue of alleged discrepancies in the tax laws has already been addressed through established legislative channels.
Rotimi noted that in December 2025 the House constituted a bipartisan ad hoc committee following concerns raised by an opposition lawmaker over multiple documents claiming to be official gazettes of the tax legislation. He said that committee remains in force and will present its findings to the House once its work is completed.
He added that the National Assembly has published the official gazette and issued Certified True Copies of the four tax reform laws — 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 — giving them full legal effect. The Assembly has also formally disowned any unofficial documents in circulation.
Meanwhile, the minority caucus committee, chaired by Afam Ogene, has maintained that its interim report was intended to highlight alleged alterations between the parliamentary versions and the gazetted texts of the laws, and has defended its findings as important for legislative integrity.
The controversy drew broad public attention after the minority caucus raised concerns that at least three different versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025 were in circulation, signaling potential procedural anomalies.
The House has reiterated its commitment to transparency and accountability but stressed these goals must be pursued strictly within constitutional and parliamentary procedures.
