By Peter Salami
Fresh controversy has erupted over President Bola Tinubu’s new tax regime as a member of the House of Representatives alleged discrepancies between tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions gazetted for public implementation, while an opposition coalition called for the immediate suspension of the policy, describing it as punitive and illegitimate.
Raising a Point of Privilege on the floor of the House on Wednesday, Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) accused relevant authorities of altering the content of tax laws approved by lawmakers before they were officially gazetted.
Invoking Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, Dasuki said his legislative privilege had been breached, insisting that the gazetted versions of the tax laws did not reflect what members debated, voted on, and passed.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki told the House.
He said he had spent the past three days reviewing the gazetted copies alongside the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, as well as the harmonised version adopted by both chambers, and discovered inconsistencies. According to him, copies obtained from the Ministry of Information differed materially from what the National Assembly approved.
Describing the issue as a “serious breach” of legislative process and the Constitution, Dasuki urged Speaker Abbas Tajudeen to direct that all relevant documents, including harmonised bills, votes and proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted laws currently in circulation, be presented before the Committee of the Whole for scrutiny.
Allowing laws different from those duly passed to be enforced, he warned, would undermine the integrity of the legislature and violate constitutional provisions.
“This is a breach of the Constitution. This is a breach of our laws, and this should not be taken by this honourable House,” he said.
Speaker Tajudeen said he had taken note of the matter and assured lawmakers that appropriate action would be taken.
The legislative dispute unfolded against the backdrop of mounting public opposition to the new tax regime. On the same day, the National Opposition Movement (NOM), a newly formed coalition, held a press conference in Abuja, demanding an immediate suspension of the implementation of Tinubu’s tax law, which is scheduled to take effect in January.
Speaking at the briefing, NOM spokesperson, Hon. Chille Igbawua, said the tax law was being introduced at a time of deepening poverty, insecurity, and economic hardship, and accused the administration of imposing an exploitative fiscal burden on ordinary Nigerians.
Though still not very clear as of press time, some of the promoters of the National Opposition Movement are said to include former APC National Vice Chairman (North-West) Dr. Salihu Lukman, former Chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, Prof. Sam Amadi, civil rights activist Aisha Yesufu, and Nollywood actor and lawyer Kenneth Okonkwo.
According to the group, the policy is not a genuine tax reform but “an assault on the livelihood of ordinary Nigerians,” particularly low-income earners, the unemployed, and small business owners.
The opposition movement criticised provisions requiring all adults of taxable age, employed or not, to file tax returns within a defined period, warning that sanctions for non-compliance would disproportionately affect millions of unemployed and underemployed Nigerians with limited access to digital infrastructure.
NOM also faulted the timing of the tax rollout, noting that fuel subsidy removal, currency depreciation, food inflation, and rising electricity tariffs had already pushed households and small businesses to the brink.
The group accused the Tinubu administration of prioritising revenue extraction over social protection, alleging widespread corruption, lack of transparency, and state capture within key revenue agencies. It further argued that the government had failed to demonstrate how increased taxation would translate into improved public services or economic opportunity.
Calling for broad national consultations, the opposition coalition demanded that any tax reform be tied to explicit social protection guarantees, stronger safeguards for taxpayer rights, and a focus on taxing luxury consumption, monopolies, excess profits, and corruption rather than poverty.