Prominent human rights lawyer, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has accused the National Assembly of compounding illegality with procedural overreach following the legislature’s decision to re-gazette Nigeria’s newly enacted tax reform laws.
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Prof. Odinkalu, a former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, stated in a public release that the National Assembly has effectively admitted that the laws were “forged.” However, he stressed that the Assembly’s response ordering a re-gazetting is legally untenable.
“The @nassnigeria has no power to order a ‘regazetting’ of an already gazetted document claiming to be a duly passed law. This is heaping unlawfulness upon criminality,” Odinkalu wrote.
He outlined two lawful remedies the National Assembly could pursue:
- Repeal and Replace — Formally repeal the gazetted legislation and pass the correct version for fresh gazetting.
- Judicial Review — Seek a court ruling to strike down the flawed gazette, followed by proper legislative correction.
Odinkalu emphasized that, regardless of the path chosen, lawmakers must identify and hold accountable those responsible for the alleged forgery. “The people deserve that,” he said.
The controversy centers on four key laws:
- Nigeria Tax Act, 2025
- Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025
- Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025
- Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025
Discrepancies between the versions passed by the Senate and House of Representatives and those officially gazetted have triggered widespread public outcry.
In response, the National Assembly announced the constitution of a seven-member Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the legislative and administrative handling of the Acts.
House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, disclosed that the leadership, under Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, directed the Clerk to re-gazette the Acts and issue Certified True Copies of the versions duly passed by both chambers.
The Assembly insists that this is an administrative step to “authenticate and accurately reflect” legislative decisions, and not a concession of error.
However, Prof. Odinkalu’s position challenges this approach, arguing that the National Assembly lacks the legal authority to simply order a re-gazetting and must instead follow proper constitutional procedures to correct the irregularities.
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