Crisis brews, forces Reps’ probe into ‘illegal alterations’ in tax laws as PDP demands six-month delay

A constitutional crisis is brewing within Nigeria’s legislative chambers following allegations that the official gazetted version of the newly signed tax reforms has been illegally altered.

In response, the House of Representatives has launched an urgent investigation, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is demanding an immediate six-month postponement of the law’s implementation.

The controversy was sparked by Representative Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who alerted the House to discrepancies between the bills passed by the National Assembly and the copies currently in circulation. Dasuki warned that these unauthorized changes could invalidate the entire reform package, urging his colleagues to act swiftly.

“I plead that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole so that we can make the relevant amendments. This is a breach of the Constitution and our laws, and this should not be taken by this Honorable House,” Dasuki stated during Wednesday’s plenary.

Taking the matter seriously, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on Thursday announced a high-powered seven-man ad hoc committee to investigate the claims. The committee, chaired by Mukhtar Betara, includes prominent lawmakers Idris Wase and James Faleke.

“On the revised tax laws, the House leadership has unanimously agreed that a committee should be set up immediately to look into the matters that were raised and many others. In that respect, I’m happy to announce to you that the following members have been appointed to the committee,” Abbas declared.

The PDP has seized on the development to demand that the January 1, 2026, take-off date be moved forward by at least six months. The party insisted that the shift is necessary to ensure the integrity of the law and to allow for “sufficient enlightenment campaigns on the new Act.”

The opposition party further warned: “Nigerians are interested in knowing how these insertions and substitutions found their way into the gazetted copy. The leadership of the House of Representatives must not attempt to sweep this matter under the carpet, as it has allegedly done with the now widespread rumour that the country is operating two budgets within a single fiscal year. This criminal act of inserting unenacted sections into laws can erode public trust in parliamentary enactments.”

This legislative probe coincides with a separate push from the National Opposition Movement (NOM), which described the new tax regime as a “weapon” against the poor. NOM spokesperson Chille Igbawua argued at a press conference: “This new tax plan must not take off now. Its implementation must be suspended immediately. This is not tax reform; it is a weapon fashioned against the economic well-being and social security of suffering Nigerians. You cannot tax hunger. You cannot tax poverty. And you cannot tax people into prosperity.”

However, the Presidency has moved to defend the four major laws—the Nigeria Tax Act, the Tax Administration Act, the Revenue Service Act, and the Joint Revenue Board Act. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, dismissed the criticisms as attempts to undermine progress.

“We must state clearly that this is a pro-poor policy — one designed to recalibrate the revenue of this country in a way that ensures the poorest Nigerians are not harmed, except positively,” Fasua explained. He cited infrastructure gains like the Brass–Nembe Road as evidence of the benefits of improved revenue systems, adding: “Recently, the Brass–Nembe Road was partially opened. That is the kind of progress we can expect when revenue and tax systems work better. We will also continue to draw lessons from how other countries have implemented similar reforms.”

The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, also emphasized the need for better communication to bridge the gap between policy and public perception. “Across the world, public policies rarely fail because they are poorly designed; they fail because they are poorly communicated. When the message is not understood, the messenger must return,” he remarked through a representative.

As the Mukhtar Betara-led committee begins its investigation into the “gazette discrepancy,” the fate of the January 2026 implementation date remains a focal point of national debate.