A member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, has raised concerns over what he described as serious inconsistencies between the tax reform law approved by the National Assembly and the version that has been officially published for public use.
Dasuki, who represents the Kebbe Tambuwal federal constituency in Sokoto State, brought the issue before the House during Wednesday’s plenary session under a point of privilege.
He explained that a government gazette is the official document through which laws are formally published after legislative approval and presidential assent. According to him, such publications are relied upon by courts, government agencies and citizens as the authentic version of the law.
The lawmaker stated that the copy of the tax reform law currently available to the public does not reflect what lawmakers debated, harmonised and eventually passed on the floor of the House.
Addressing his colleagues, Dasuki said he was present throughout the legislative process and participated in the vote, yet the gazetted document he later obtained appeared entirely different from the version approved by the legislature.
He disclosed that he personally obtained copies of the gazetted law from the Ministry of Information and discovered notable differences between that document and the harmonised bill passed by the National Assembly.
Dasuki urged the Speaker and members of the House to compare the harmonised version, the passed version and the gazetted copy in order to determine how the discrepancies occurred.
He warned that allowing such inconsistencies to stand could amount to a violation of the constitution and undermine the integrity of the legislative process.
Although he did not formally move a motion, the lawmaker requested that the approved version of the law be presented before the Committee of the Whole so lawmakers could properly examine it alongside the gazetted text.
Responding to the concern, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, acknowledged the issue and assured members that appropriate steps would be taken.
The tax reform bills were passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate earlier in the year, following debates and harmonisation by both chambers.
President Bola Tinubu later signed the bills into law in June.
The proposed reforms initially sparked resistance from several northern governors who argued that the measures could disadvantage their region. They had urged lawmakers to reject the bills and called for fairness in implementation.
However, the Nigeria Governors Forum eventually backed the reforms after reaching an agreement on a revised value added tax sharing arrangement aimed at ensuring equity across the country.
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