… Group says parliamentary records remain intact, urges public confidence
By Mercy Gadia Adi
A coalition of civil society organisations, The Patriots, has dismissed allegations that Nigeria’s 2025 Tax Reform Acts were altered after passage by the National Assembly, saying official parliamentary records show no material discrepancies and remain the authoritative expression of legislative intent.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, signed by the Coordinator of The Patriots, Muhammad E. Dauda, the group said claims of inconsistencies between the Acts as passed by lawmakers and versions reportedly published in the Official Gazette were unfounded, following a review of the harmonised Acts, Conference Committee reports, and the Votes and Proceedings of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Read Also:Tax Reform Bills: NASS Completes Harmonisation, Transmits to President
The Patriots said the Votes and Proceedings of 28 May 2025, published the following day and in public circulation since then, constitute the definitive record of the decisions of the National Assembly, adding that its examination revealed no evidence of post-passage alteration of the laws.
Addressing reports that multiple versions of the Tax Acts exist in the Official Gazette, the coalition noted that gazetting is an administrative process meant to give public notice of laws already validly enacted, and does not confer authority to amend or rewrite legislation approved by parliament.
It argued that any clerical or publication irregularity cannot override the resolutions of both chambers of the National Assembly, citing established judicial precedents which affirm that legislative intent, as reflected in official parliamentary records, prevails over administrative documents.
The group endorsed the decision of the leadership of the National Assembly to re-gazette the Tax Acts to reflect the harmonised versions approved by lawmakers, describing calls for suspension of implementation or repeal and re-enactment as unnecessary and capable of creating avoidable legal and fiscal uncertainty.
The Patriots also welcomed the directive for the Clerk to the National Assembly to issue Certified True Copies of the Acts to members of the public on request, saying the move would strengthen transparency, legal certainty and public confidence in the legislative process.