Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned against any attempt to re-gazette the tax laws, claiming that such a move would undermine parliamentary oversight and set a dangerous constitutional precedent.
His remarks come amid increased public and political scrutiny following reports of purported post-passage changes to tax laws authorized by President Bola Tinubu.
Lawmakers, including Abdussamad Dasuki, expressed concern during plenary that the tax reform acts authorized by parliament differed significantly from copies in circulation at the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
Dasuki warned that the purported changes constituted severe legal and constitutional dangers, as they were unsupported by any constitutional framework and may jeopardize Nigeria’s democratic order.
The Federal Government has denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the laws will take effect as scheduled on January 1, 2026.
While no alteration was admitted, the National Assembly, “in the interest of clarity, accuracy, and the integrity of the legislative record,” said “the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, had directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to re-gazette the Acts and issue Certified True Copies of the versions duly passed by both chambers.”
In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Atiku argued that the directive amounted to confirmation “that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly,” which, he said, “raises a grave constitutional issue.”
“A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity,” he said.
He emphasized that gazetting is only an administrative act of publication and “does not create law, amend law, or cure illegality.”
According to him, a gazette that misrepresents parliamentary approval has no legal force.
He further claimed that any insertion, deletion, or change of a measure after passage without parliamentary consent constitutes forgery rather than a clerical error.
“No administrative directive by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, can validate such a defect or justify a re-gazetting without re-passage and fresh presidential assent,” Atiku said.
The former vice president warned that rushing a re-gazetting while delaying legislative examination would undermine the legislature’s power.
“The attempt to rush a re-gazetting while stalling legislative investigation undermines parliamentary oversight and sets a dangerous precedent. Illegality cannot be cured by speed,” he said.
He insisted that the only legal alternative was “fresh legislative consideration, re-passage in identical form by both chambers, fresh assent, and proper gazetting.”
Atiku went on to say that his position was not against tax reform but rather in support of constitutional order.
“This is not opposition to tax reform. It is a defense of the integrity of the legislative process and a rejection of any attempt to normalize constitutional breaches through procedural shortcuts,” he said.
