The Nigerian presidency has responded to a growing controversy over alleged discrepancies in the country’s new tax laws, which are scheduled to take effect on January 1.
The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, stated that the documents circulating in the media purporting to show differences between what the National Assembly passed and what was officially gazetted are “fake.”
The controversy had prompted calls for the suspension of the new laws from prominent figures like Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, as well as several civil society organizations.
The issue was first raised by Representative Abdulsamad Dasuki, who claimed that the gazetted versions of the tax laws contained provisions that were not debated or approved by lawmakers, thereby breaching his legislative rights.
However, speaking on Monday, Mr. Oyedele clarified that a definitive comparison is not yet possible because the officially certified, harmonized version from the National Assembly has not been made public.
He explained that he only has the copy that was presented to the President for signing and that even he cannot authoritatively compare it with what was passed on the floor.
Oyedele revealed that a provision requiring a “20 per cent deposit,” which was present in a draft version, is not in the final gazetted law. He suggested that an unofficial report was circulated prematurely before the House committee had even met to finalize its findings.
He urged the public to allow the House of Representatives to conduct its investigation properly and cautioned against relying on unverified documents.
The four new tax laws, signed by President Bola Tinubu, represent a major overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system, aimed at simplifying compliance and modernizing revenue collection.
