Nigeria’s newly signed tax reform laws have become the centre of a growing political storm, as civil society groups and northern organisations press for an investigation into allegations that the legislation was altered after being passed by parliament.
The laws, due to take effect on 1 January 2026, were recently assented to by President Bola Tinubu. But claims by some lawmakers—led by a Sokoto legislator, Abdussamad Dasuki—that the versions gazetted by the government differ from the harmonised bills approved by both chambers of the National Assembly have triggered widespread controversy.
In response, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has set up a seven-member investigative committee chaired by the head of the appropriations committee, Mukhtar Betara. Prominent political figures, including former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and Labour party presidential candidate Peter Obi, have urged the government to suspend implementation of the reforms until the discrepancies are clarified.
The presidency has dismissed suggestions of secret alterations, insisting that the reforms will proceed as planned.
However, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has intensified pressure on the administration, urging Tinubu to direct the attorney general and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to publish certified true copies of the tax bills received from the National Assembly, the versions assented to by the president, and the laws ultimately gazetted.
The documents in question include the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act and the Nigeria Tax Act.
In a statement on Sunday, SERAP said public access to the documents would allow Nigerians to scrutinise and compare the different versions, and help establish whether the law-making process had been compromised. The organisation also called for an independent panel of inquiry to investigate what it described as “alleged illegal tweaks” to the laws.
In a Freedom of Information request dated 20 December and signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the group said the panel should be chaired by a retired justice of the supreme court or court of appeal, with its findings made public and anyone found culpable prosecuted.
“Any unlawful alteration would violate the constitution, international human rights law, and the principles of the rule of law and separation of powers,” SERAP warned, adding that laws must be “accessible, authentic, clear and predictable”.
The organisation gave the federal government seven days to respond, saying it would resort to legal action if its demands were ignored.
Northern groups have also voiced strong opposition. The Arewa Youth Assembly rejected the tax laws outright, describing the alleged discrepancies as “governance by ambush” and warning of serious political consequences if the matter was not addressed.
“If the law presented to the public is not the same law debated and passed by elected representatives, then democracy itself is being subverted,” the assembly’s speaker, Mohammed Salihu-Danlami, said, calling the situation a constitutional crisis.
The League of Northern Democrats went further, urging the National Assembly to consider impeachment proceedings against Tinubu if the allegations are proven. In a letter to the senate president, Godswill Akpabio, and the speaker of the house, the group said the president had no constitutional authority to amend or rewrite a bill passed by parliament, arguing that such an act would amount to gross misconduct under section 143 of the constitution.
“The president’s role is strictly limited to assent or refusal of assent,” the letter said, warning that failure by the legislature to act decisively could erode constitutional democracy and reduce parliament to a subordinate arm of the executive.
Supporters of the reforms, however, have rallied behind the government. The chair of the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service, Adebayo Rojugbokan, urged Nigerians not to fear the changes, describing them as a long-overdue modernisation of the tax system that would reduce the number of taxes and improve transparency.
“Taxation is a contribution by individuals to the development of the state and the nation,” he said, adding that the reforms would enhance accountability and support economic growth.
A chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition, Ayo Opadokun, also praised Tinubu for what he called a bold and historic step towards fiscal federalism. He said the reforms could strengthen sub-national autonomy, correct long-standing distortions in revenue allocation and reduce overdependence on the centre.
Yet Opadokun cautioned that the success of the reforms would ultimately be judged by their impact on ordinary Nigerians. “Positive indicators will remain elitist pastimes if they do not reflect on the tables and in the households of Nigerians,” he said, urging the government to ensure the benefits of the tax overhaul are felt at the grassroots.
