Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has faulted the National Assembly’s move to re-gazette the recently passed tax reform laws, saying a fresh passage is the solution to the crisis rocking implementation by January 1, 2026.
Atiku, in a statement, described the discrepancy in the gazetted copy of the tax law as a “grave constitutional issue”.
He noted that any law published in a form different from what was approved by lawmakers is “a nullity”.
“The confirmation by the Senate that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly raises a grave constitutional issue,” Atiku stated.
“A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity. Under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawmaking process is clear: passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and only then gazetting.
“Gazetting is an administrative act; it does not create law, amend law, or cure illegality.”
He warned that post-passage insertions, deletions, or modifications without legislative approval amount to “forgery, not a clerical error”.
“No administrative directive by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, can validate such a defect or justify a re-gazetting without re-passage and fresh presidential assent,” he added.
He also said attempts to rush a re-gazetting while delaying legislative investigations “undermine parliamentary oversight and set a dangerous precedent.
Atiku’s comments come hours after the National Assembly announced that it would work with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to re-gazette the tax reform laws.
Worried by the alleged discrepancies, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for the suspension of the implementation of the tax laws, pending a full investigation.
On December 17, a member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, said there are discrepancies between the tax reform law passed by the national assembly and the gazetted copy available to the public.
The tax reform law, expected to take full effect in January 2026, faced resistance even before its passage into law.
A gazette is an official government publication that formally publishes laws and other legal notices after they have been approved by the legislature and signed into law by the president.