A former member of the House of Representatives, Zakari Mohammed, has raised concerns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over alleged discrepancies between tax bills passed by the national assembly and the versions later gazetted by the executive.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a letter dated December 17, Mohammed referenced a motion earlier raised by Abdulsamad Dasuki on the floor of the house, where the lawmaker drew attention to “disturbing discrepancies between the tax bills debated, harmonised, and passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and presented to the public by the executive”.
According to Mohammed, the gazetted copies contain strange clauses and material deviations that were neither debated nor approved by the legislature.
He warned that if the allegations are established, they would amount to serial violations of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including an infringement on the legislative powers of the national assembly and a breach of the separation of powers.
Mohammed stressed that the president’s role under the constitution is confined to assent or withholding of assent and does not authorise post-passage alteration, insertion, or doctoring of legislative texts.
The former lawmaker also cautioned that the situation could erode confidence in Nigeria’s law-making process and weaken investor trust, particularly in relation to tax legislation, noting that no serious economy attracts sustainable investment where the authenticity of its laws is in doubt.
He urged the president to suspend the implementation of the disputed tax laws, publicly release the versions passed by the national assembly, and order an independent investigation into how the discrepancies arose.
Mohammed added that any compromised gazetted instruments should be withdrawn and subjected to a fresh legislative process if violations are confirmed.
