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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has constituted a seven-member ad-hoc committee to investigate allegations of inconsistencies between tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions later assented to and officially gazetted.
The committee, inaugurated on Thursday, will be chaired by Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara. Other members include former Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, Sada Soli, James Abiodun Faleke, Fred Agbedi, Babajimi Benson, and Iduma Igariwey.
The development follows concerns raised on the floor of the House by a lawmaker, Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who alleged that the contents of certain tax laws published after presidential assent do not accurately reflect what was debated and approved by lawmakers.
Dasuki raised the issue on Wednesday under Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, invoking a Point of Privilege. He told the House that his legislative rights had been breached, arguing that the gazetted versions of the tax laws differ significantly from the bills passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
According to the lawmaker, he spent several days cross-checking the gazetted copies with the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, as well as the harmonised versions adopted by the House and the Senate, and discovered notable discrepancies.
“I participated in the debate, I voted, and my vote was recorded. Yet what I am seeing in the gazetted laws is entirely different,” Dasuki said. He added that copies obtained from the Ministry of Information did not align with the versions approved by the legislature.
He stressed that the issue goes beyond procedural motions, describing it as a serious violation of legislative procedure and constitutional provisions. Dasuki urged the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents — including the harmonised bills, the Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted laws currently in circulation — are presented to the Committee of the Whole for collective examination by lawmakers.
The lawmaker warned that allowing laws that differ from those duly passed by the National Assembly to be presented to the public could undermine the credibility of the legislature and erode public trust in the law-making process.
In response, Speaker Abbas acknowledged the Point of Privilege and assured members that the House would take appropriate steps to address the matter, leading to the constitution of the ad-hoc committee.
