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The Presidency has dismissed claims of inconsistencies in the newly enacted tax reform laws, insisting that documents circulating in the media are not authentic.
The clarification followed allegations by a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, who claimed that the tax laws published differed from those passed by the National Assembly, arguing that his legislative rights had been breached.
Following the claims, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and several civil society groups called on the government to suspend implementation of the laws.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said the documents in circulation were fake.
Oyedele explained that there was no basis for comparing the laws passed by the National Assembly with the gazetted versions because the officially harmonised bills certified by the Clerk of the National Assembly had not been released to the public.
He stressed that only lawmakers could authoritatively confirm what was transmitted to the President, noting that even members of the tax reform committee did not have access to the certified harmonised versions.
“Before anyone can claim there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we must have what was actually passed. We don’t have that,” he said.
“The harmonised bills certified by the Clerk and sent to the President are not available for comparison. Only lawmakers can say exactly what was transmitted. Even I do not have them; I only have the documents presented to the President for assent.”
Oyedele hinted that the House of Representatives committee told him it had not met on the matter and that the document being circulated did not originate from the committee.
He urged the public to allow the House of Representatives to carry out its investigation into the issue.
