A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised concerns about what he described as discrepancies between tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and made available to the public.
Mr Dasuki raised the issue during Wednesday’s plenary, arguing that his legislative rights had been breached because the content of the gazetted tax laws did not reflect what lawmakers debated and approved on the floor of the House.
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“I am here today because my privilege as a member of this House has been breached,” he said.
The tax bills were passed by the House in February after months of debates, public hearings, and clause-by-clause consideration, and were later harmonised with the version passed by the Senate.
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On 26 June, President Bola Tinubu signed the four bills into law.
The lawmaker explained that after the passage of the tax bills, he undertook a personal review of the official legislative records to verify the outcome of the process.
“We passed the tax laws on this floor and, Mr. Speaker, I took my time in the last three days to look at the gazetted passed copy, the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, and also went an extra mile to look at the Votes and Proceedings of the Senate of what was harmonised,” Mr Dasuki said.
According to him, the outcome of the review raised serious red flags.
“What was passed on this floor is not what is gazetted,” he said. “I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I’m seeing something completely different.”
Mr Dasuki said he obtained copies of the relevant documents, including the gazetted version currently available to Nigerians.
“You find out what is before Nigerians, which is being sold to Nigerians at the Ministry of Information, which I personally went to buy. The gazette copies are not what was passed,” he added.
He warned that the issue went beyond a simple administrative lapse, describing it as a constitutional breach that could undermine the authority of the legislature.
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“This is a breach of the Constitution and a breach of our laws, and it should not be treated lightly by this House,” he said.
Although he did not move a substantive motion, the lawmaker urged the speaker to allow a transparent review of the documents by lawmakers.
“I’ll be pleading that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole. Members should see what is in the gazette and what they passed on the floor so that we can make the relevant amendment,” he said.
Responding, the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, acknowledged the concern and assured the House that appropriate steps would be taken to address the matter.
“Your observation is noted, and action will be taken, I assure you,” Mr Tajudeen said.
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