Nigeria’s House of Representatives has set up an investigative committee to probe allegations of the alteration of tax laws passed by the National Assembly.
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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, on Thursday set up a seven-man ad-hoc committee to investigate the allegations of discrepancies between the tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently assented and gazetted.
The committee is to be chaired by Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara.
Other members of the committee include former Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, Sada Soli, James Abiodun Faleke, Fred Agbedi, Babajimi Benson and Iduma Igariwey.
Recall that a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP Sokoto), had on Wednesday raised a matter of privilege on the floor of the House, alleging discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and made available to the public.
Rising under Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules on a Point of Privilege, Dasuki told the House that his legislative privilege had been breached, insisting that the content of the tax laws as gazetted did not reflect what lawmakers debated, voted on and passed on the floor of the House.
According to him, after the passage of the tax bills, he took time for three days to carefully review the gazetted copies alongside the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, as well as the harmonised version adopted by both chambers of the National Assembly, but observed discrepancies.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said, adding that he obtained copies of the gazetted laws from the Ministry of Information and found them to be inconsistent with what was approved by both the House and the Senate.
The lawmaker stressed that the matter was not about moving a motion, but about drawing the attention of the House to what he described as “a serious breach” of legislative process and the Constitution.
He urged the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents, including the harmonised versions, the Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted copies currently in circulation, are brought before the Committee of the Whole for scrutiny by all members.
Dasuki warned that allowing laws different from those duly passed by the National Assembly to be presented to Nigerians would undermine the integrity of the legislature and violate constitutional provisions.
“Mr Speaker, I will be pleading that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole Thank you. The whole members should see what is in the gazetted copy and see what they passed on the floor so that we can make the relevant amendment. Mister Speaker, this is the breach of the Constitution,” he stated.
“This is the breach of our laws, and this should not be taken by this honorable House. Thank you Mister Speaker,” he added.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who presided over the plenary, said he has taken note of the Point of Privilege raised by Dasuki and assured that action would be taken on the matter.
The establishment of the seven-man ad-hoc committee on Thursday represents the Speaker’s fulfillment of that assurance, with the committee now tasked with investigating the serious allegations and reporting back to the House.
The controversy raises fundamental questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s legislative process and the mechanisms in place to ensure that laws as passed by the National Assembly are accurately reflected in gazetted versions presented to the public.
If proven, the allegations would represent a significant breach of constitutional procedures and could potentially invalidate aspects of the tax laws currently in circulation.
The House awaits the committee’s findings as lawmakers seek to establish whether there were indeed unauthorized alterations to legislation they voted on and passed.
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