Minority caucus report on tax laws overtaken by events – Agbese

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has said that the interim report issued by the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on alleged alterations in the tax reform Acts has been overtaken by events.

Agbese, in an interview on Friday in Abuja, said the leadership of the federal legislature had already taken steps to address alleged discrepancies between the version of the laws passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted copies.

The minority caucus panel that investigated alleged alterations of the tax laws, in its interim report on Friday, confirmed that some sections of the tax reform laws were altered.

According to the Ad-hoc Committee chaired by Afam Ogene, there were at least three different versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act in circulation.

A member of the House, Abdulsamad Dasuki, from Sokoto State, last December raised the alarm on the floor of the House that gazetted copies of the bill in circulation were different from the version passed by the National Assembly.

The House, in response, set up a seven-man panel, chaired by the Chairman, House Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muktar Betara, to investigate the allegations and report back for further legislative action.

While the panel is yet to submit its report, the House Spokesman, Akin Rotimi, said the leadership has directed the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA) to release the gazetted copies of the Acts.

On its part, the minority caucus also set up a seven-man panel to conduct a separate inquiry into the alleged alterations of the tax Acts.

Nonetheless, Agbese stated that the House leadership, under the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, in collaboration with the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, had ensured the public release of the authentic versions of the four tax reform Acts as passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President.

He noted that the release of the Certified True Copies (CTC) effectively resolved the issues raised over alleged alterations, restored public confidence, and reaffirmed the independence and authority of the legislature.

According to him, “The concerns raised regarding discrepancies in the tax laws have already been comprehensively addressed by the House leadership. With the release of the Certified True Copies of the Acts, there is now clarity as to what was passed by the National Assembly and signed into law.”

He added that the Speaker had also directed an internal verification process to ensure that only the authentic versions of the laws were in circulation.

Agbese, while acknowledging the right of lawmakers to raise concerns in the interest of accountability, maintained that the corrective measures already implemented made further controversy unnecessary.

The Deputy Spokesman argued that the response of the House leadership to the alleged alteration of the tax laws demonstrated the commitment of the Green Chamber to transparency, due process, and the protection of democratic institutions.

He said, “The House has acted swiftly and responsibly. The leadership did not wait for public pressure to mount before taking action. The release of the Certified Acts has settled the matter and ensured that Nigerians are guided only by the correct and lawful versions of the tax reforms.”

Agbese assured Nigerians that the House would continue to collaborate with the Senate and relevant institutions to strengthen legislative processes and prevent similar issues from recurring in the future.