The House of Representatives’ deputy spokesman, Philip Agbese, on Saturday dismissed the Minority Caucus’ interim report alleging illegal alterations to newly gazetted tax laws as “belated,” saying leadership had already taken steps to settle the controversy.
Agbese said that the matter had been “overtaken by events” after certified true copies of the four tax reform Acts were released to the public.
Agbese said Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Senate President Godswill Akpabio worked to ensure the authentic texts — the versions passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu — were made available, which he argued resolved the concerns raised by the minority.
He described the minority report as arriving after those corrective actions and therefore no longer central to the public debate.
But the Minority Caucus has maintained that discrepancies exist between the parliamentary versions and the gazetted texts, and it asked the executive to suspend implementation pending a full probe.
The caucus’s findings prompted opposition figures and civil-society voices to demand clarity and accountability.
High-profile critics have reacted strongly.
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi urged a pause on rollout, calling for broad consultations to fix what he described as serious defects.
Former education minister and campaigner Oby Ezekwesili and the Peoples Democratic Party also pressed for suspension and an independent inquiry, warning the controversy threatens public confidence in the lawmaking process.
The presidency has maintained implementation should proceed while lawmakers investigate.
Investigations and committee work continue, but Agbese’s office insisted on Saturday that the House leadership’s actions have largely laid the matter to rest — a claim likely to keep the debate alive as stakeholders weigh legal and political next steps.
