879
By Tracy Moses
The House of Representatives has clarified its position on public commentary regarding the passage, presidential assent, and gazetting of four major tax reform laws. The Acts, the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025; and Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, are aimed at reforming Nigeria’s tax system and strengthening revenue administration, key pillars of national fiscal policy.
The controversy arose shortly after the President assented to the bills and the Acts were published in the Official Gazette. Concerns were first raised within legislative circles when some lawmakers and policy analysts noted discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those gazetted by the executive.
The issue gained wider attention when a member of the House formally raised the matter on the floor under a Point of Order (Privileges), claiming that “certain provisions in the gazetted Acts do not fully align with the versions approved by both chambers.” The lawmaker warned that any post-passage alteration of legislation, if established, “would amount to a serious breach of legislative procedure and constitutional order.”
Following the debate, legal practitioners, civil society organisations, and fiscal policy experts called for clarity on the harmonisation process between the Senate and the House, the documents transmitted for presidential assent, and the administrative steps leading to gazetting.
In response, the House leadership constituted a seven-member Ad Hoc Committee to review the legislative and administrative handling of the Acts. Working alongside other relevant committees and the Management of the National Assembly, the Committee is tasked with “establishing the sequence of events and identifying any factors that may have contributed to the circumstances surrounding the legislative process,” according to a statement signed by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi.
The House assured Nigerians that the review is being conducted strictly within the constitutional and statutory framework governing the National Assembly, including a careful examination of “any lapses, irregularities, or external interference, should any be found.”
The statement added that the exercise is “being carried out in full conformity with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Acts Authentication Act, Cap. A4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, the Standing Orders of both chambers, and established parliamentary practice.”
To ensure accuracy and preserve the legislative record, the leadership of the National Assembly, under the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has directed the Clerk to “re-gazette the Acts and issue Certified True Copies of the versions duly passed by both chambers.” The House emphasised that this step is “intended solely to authenticate and accurately reflect the legislative decisions of the National Assembly.”
Reaffirming its commitment to constitutionalism and due process, the House said that any procedural or administrative refinements identified “will be corrected in accordance with the law and established parliamentary conventions.” It stressed that the review does not “constitute, imply, or concede any defect in the exercise of legislative authority by either chamber” and is being conducted “without prejudice to the powers, functions, or actions of any other arm or agency of government.”
The House urged members of the public to allow the institutional processes to proceed without speculation, while reaffirming its “commitment to transparency, accountability, and the faithful discharge of its constitutional responsibility as custodian of Nigeria’s legislative authority.”
Further information will be provided as necessary.