A member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives has alleged discrepancies between tax reform bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently published in the Official Gazette.
In a public statement, Mansur Manu Soro stated that a comparison of the Votes and Proceedings of the National Assembly, the harmonised bills approved by lawmakers, and the gazetted texts revealed differences between the bills as passed and the versions gazetted. The allegation relates to the Tax Laws, 2025, and concerns post-passage handling of legislative texts.
According to the allegation, certain oversight and reporting provisions approved during the legislative process are not reflected in the gazetted versions, while additional fiscal or administrative provisions not debated or approved by the legislature appear in the published texts. The lawmaker has characterised the matter as a legislative-process issue arising after passage.
The allegation is disputed and has not been formally established. No court has ruled on the validity of the claims, and no official determination has been issued by the National Assembly or any executive authority regarding the accuracy or legal status of the gazetted laws.
The House of Representatives has constituted an ad hoc committee to examine the allegation as part of its internal legislative processes. Separately, Abdulsammad Dasuki had earlier raised a matter of privilege on the floor of the House, similarly alleging that the gazetted tax laws did not reflect the versions debated and passed by lawmakers.
As of the date of this report, the Tax Laws, 2025 remain scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026. No suspension, amendment, or corrective legislative action has been formally adopted, and no judicial proceedings have been concluded on the matter.
What Next:
– Consideration of the allegation by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee is pending.
– Any amendment, suspension, or corrective action would require a formal resolution of the National Assembly.
– No change to the stated commencement date of the Tax Laws, 2025 has been officially announced.
