Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for Nigeria’s newly enacted tax reform laws to be re-passed by the National Assembly, saying discrepancies between the version approved by lawmakers and the one published in the government gazette amount to a constitutional breach.
In a statement issued Monday, December 29, Atiku rejected plans to simply “re-gazette” the laws to correct the inconsistencies, insisting that such corrections have no legal force without a fresh legislative vote and presidential assent.
“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 said.
The controversy began after lawmakers, including Rep. Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that the published gazette contained unauthorized additions and deletions not included in the version approved on the floor of the Senate and House of Representatives.
While the National Assembly leadership has suggested working with the executive to re-gazette the laws, Atiku argued that altering legislation after passage—without lawmakers’ approval—amounts to forgery, not correction.
He maintained that no directive from Senate President Godswill Akpabio or Speaker Tajudeen Abbas can validate a flawed document without due process.
With the sweeping reforms scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, Atiku warned that bypassing a fresh legislative vote would “undermine parliamentary authority and set a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.”
