Lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly are expressing frustration with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over his directive barring the Office of the Assembly Clerk from releasing copies of the tax reform bill transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent and subsequently signed into law, Peoples Gazette has learnt.
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Two senators and four members of the House of Representatives told The Gazette that the embargo has fuelled suspicion and internal wrangling, as lawmakers who demanded copies of the assented bill were denied access.
This is despite their insistence that the document was needed to confirm that the version signed by the president was identical with the certified true copy passed by both legislative chambers.
According to the lawmakers, the controversy began following allegations by a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsammad Dasuki, (PDP-Sokoto State), that the tax laws available to Nigerians differed from the versions passed by the National Assembly.
Rising on a Point of Privilege under Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, Mr Dasuki told the House of Representatives that his legislative rights had been breached, insisting that the content of the gazetted tax laws did not reflect what lawmakers debated, voted on, and approved on the floor.
According to him, after the passage of the tax bill, he spent three days reviewing the gazetted copies alongside the Votes and Proceedings of the House and the harmonised versions adopted by both legislative chambers.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Mr Dasuki said, noting that copies of the gazetted laws obtained from the Ministry of Information did not match the versions approved by the House and Senate.
The lawmaker further stressed that his concern was not about moving a motion but about alerting the House to a serious breach of legislative process and the constitution.
The allegation prompted several lawmakers to formally request copies of the signed law to compare it with the version debated and approved during plenary.
The Gazette has seen a certified true copy of the tax bill as passed by the National Assembly, further deepening questions over why the leadership would place an embargo on the assented version of the law.
As of press time, neither Mr Akpabio, Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly, nor Mr Abbas had responded to requests for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, The Gazette learnt that officials in the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly informed the lawmakers that they were acting on the instruction of Mr Akpabio, who ordered that no copy of the assented tax law should be released to any legislator.
“What is unfolding before us is an attempt to subvert our nascent democracy, and we want Nigerian compatriots of good conscience to help us in this fight,” a ruling party senator said under condition of anonymity to avoid being targeted by the president’s allies.
The lawmaker said, “I have personally approached the clerk’s office four times over the past week to ask for the certified documents but they keep saying the SP told them not to release them to anyone.”
A House of Representatives member from Oyo State who spoke to The Gazette described the development as troubling, saying he was disappointed in Speaker Tajudeen Abbas’ failure to allow the matter to be resolved before the Yuletide break.
“This is supposed to be handled with the urgency and sensitivity it deserves,” the lawmaker said. “But we have decided to punt this chaos into the new year even as it appears the administration may not scrap the January 1 implementation of the so-called law.”
The content of the gazetted document has become central to the unfolding dispute, with lawmakers saying access to the assented copy was critical to establishing whether any alterations were made to the bill between passage by the legislature and assent by the president.
The lawmakers warned that withholding the document undermined legislative oversight and eroded trust within the parliament.
Meanwhile, a member of the Finance Committee of the Senate, Sunday Karimi, alleged that the reported alterations to the tax bill were a rumour.
“It is a rumour, nothing confirmed,” Mr Karimi told The Gazette on Tuesday. “Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of the Finance Committee to investigate this matter. The copy passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted version should all be available for Nigerians to see.”
Still, Mr Karimi expressed confidence in Mr Tinubu, saying the president runs a responsible government and wouldn’t be part of any attempt to subvert the law.
“The president is a highly trustworthy statesman and his government would not be part of any attempt to sabotage our democracy,” Mr Karimi said. “So that’s why I still assume what we’re hearing can all be rumours.”
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