Abuja – The Federal Government has insisted that the newly enacted tax reform laws remain unchanged and that only one authentic version exists.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this clarification on Monday at an end-of-year news conference in Abuja.
He dismissed claims that the laws were altered after being passed by the National Assembly, stressing that the version assented to by President Tinubu is the official document.
“The Federal Government is going ahead with the commencement of implementation, noting as changed,” Idris said.
He added that concerns raised over alleged discrepancies between the version passed by lawmakers and the one later gazetted would be addressed by the National Assembly.
“I think it is important for us to wait for the National Assembly to look at this again to tell us whether there were discrepancies or not.”
“This is, at this point, an affair of the National Assembly to which I have no jurisdiction, and I have no authority to speak about. As far as the government of Nigeria is concerned, there’s only one version of that tax document,” he explained.
The controversy began when Abdussamad Dasuki, a lawmaker representing Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency in Sokoto State, raised alarms in the House of Representatives over alleged alterations to the tax reform laws.
Dasuki claimed that some provisions contained in the gazetted laws were neither debated nor approved by lawmakers.
The bills, signed into law by President Tinubu, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. They faced opposition during legislative consideration, particularly from northern lawmakers, over concerns about economic and regional implications.
Prominent political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, have called for the suspension of the laws’ implementation pending clarification of disputed provisions.
Meanwhile, Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, dismissed claims of secret alterations, warning that Nigerians could face consequences if the new tax laws are not implemented from January 1.
