The minority caucus of the House of Representatives has called for the suspension of the implementation of four tax reform Acts passed by the National Assembly and signed by the President, pending the conclusion of investigations by the House.
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The call followed controversies over alleged alterations to the laws as passed by the National Assembly.
The issue was raised as a matter of privilege at plenary by Abdulsamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who alleged that the tax laws gazetted and currently being circulated by the Ministry of Information differ from the versions passed by the legislature and assented to by the President.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Minority leadership urged Nigerians to reject any tax law that does not bear the signatures of the President and the Clerk to the National Assembly, noting that these are the two mandatory signatories required to validate any law passed by the lawmakers.
The statement was signed by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda; Minority Whip, Ali Isa J.C.; Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Sani Madaki; and Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinobi.
The statement read, “We have noted with great consternation and an overwhelming sense of disappointment the current storm brewing over the tax reform laws that were duly passed by the National Assembly and properly signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
“Ordinarily, the controversy would have been dismissed as needless, but the gravity of the cause of the controversy is an issue of great concern to all Nigerians, especially since it borders on accusations of unlawful alterations to the laws as passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently signed by the President.
“We are also aware that this issue has been raised by a member of the House of Representatives during one of our recent plenaries, following which the House inaugurated a high-powered committee to investigate the allegations made by the member that the tax laws have been fraudulently altered, gazetted, and that the altered copies were circulated to the public.
“As such, we want to assure Nigerians that the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives will stand with the entire House to see that the circumstances surrounding this illegality are exposed and the culprits brought to book in the interest of justice for all Nigerians.
“We are aware of the legitimate procedures for the gazetting of laws, and it starts with the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) transmitting the actual copies of the laws to the relevant federal agency that gazettes all government documents. This means the National Assembly is always the custodian of the genuine documents of the laws of the federation that have been passed, and therefore, we will always ensure that the truth prevails in moments of controversy such as this.
“We therefore call on Nigerians to disregard any purported tax laws being circulated without the signatures of the CNA and the President and Commander-in-Chief. Such did not originate from the National Assembly, nor do they reflect the true character of what was actually passed by the legislature and signed by the President.
“Any attempt to foist fake laws on Nigerians is an attack on the independence and constitutional role of the National Assembly in safeguarding our democracy, and the caucus will unconditionally protect the independence of the legislature and our democracy.
“Consequently, we call on the government to suspend the implementation of the tax laws until investigations are concluded and there is clarity and certainty about the law to be implemented.
“Moreover, Nigerians and the business community are entitled to copies of the laws that they are expected to obey.”
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